From the moment he first put on the uniform of the United States Marine Corps, Steven M. Lipscomb made a silent promise — to stand between danger and the people he cared about.

He was young when he entered service, barely old enough to vote, yet strong enough to face the brutality of battle.

He fought in foreign deserts, carried brothers through gunfire, survived explosions that should have ended his life, and returned home with scars that ran deeper than anyone could…