CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Marine Lance Cpl. Moses Cardenas was honored with the Silver Star at Camp Pendleton for putting himself between his sergeant and enemy fire.

"I got shot and fell and I noticed my sergeant was shot so I got up and grabbed him and dragged him to the vehicle and put myself in front of him and continued engaging the enemy," Cardenas said.

The wife of the sergeant whose life he saved said she couldn't put her gratitude into words.

"We owe him so much gratitude," Sharla Rodema said. "You can never show enough gratitude to someone like him."

Cardenas, who said he loves being a Marine, will return to Iraq in September.