Aleksander Reed Skarlatos is an American former Army National Guard soldier who, along with Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and three others, stopped a gunman on a Paris-bound train travelling from Amsterdam via Brussels in August 2015. He was awarded the United States Army's Soldier's Medal from U.S. President Barack Obama. All six received France's highest decoration, the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, from French president François Hollande. The Americans were also awarded the medal of the city of Arras.

On 21 August 2015, a man opened fire on a Thalys train on its way from Amsterdam to Paris. Four people were injured, including the assailant. French, American and British passengers confronted the attacker and subdued him. For their heroism, they received France's highest decoration, the Legion of Honour. The assailant, later identified as Ayoub El Khazzani, initially claimed to be only a robber, but later confessed that he had wanted to "kill Americans" as revenge for bombings in Syria.