MINNEAPOLIS — An ex-Marine from Prior Lake has received one of the military’s top honors.

Officials presented a Silver Star medal to Cpl. Ethan Nagel Tuesday at the Navy Operational Support Center in Minneapolis.

Marine Wing Support Squadron 1st Sgt. Michael Ryan says Nagel’s heroic actions prevented the possibility of a gravely wounded soldier from being captured by the enemy in Afghanistan in 2009.

Nagel and others in his unit came under fire by the Taliban. He suffered shrapnel wounds to his shoulder but fired his gun at approaching fighters while giving medical aid to a wounded Special Forces soldier.

The 26-year-old Nagel graduated from Lutheran High School in Bloomington in 2005 and joined the Marines. He left the Marines in 2009 and joined the Minnesota National Guard this summer.