Anthony Sadler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anthony Sadler
Sadler in 2015
Born	Anthony Albert Sadler Jr. (1992-07-13) July 13, 1992 (age 32) Contra Costa County, California, U.S.
Citizenship	United States (1992–present) France (2018–present)
Alma mater	California State University, Sacramento (2012–2017; B.S. in kinesiology)
Occupation	Television personality
Years active	2015–present
Known for	Stopping a gunman on a Paris-bound train travelling from Amsterdam via Brussels in August 2015

Anthony Albert Sadler Jr. (born July 13, 1992) is an American author and television personality. Sadler, along with his friends Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone and several other passengers stopped a gunman on a Paris-bound train travelling from Amsterdam via Brussels in August 2015, gaining international recognition for their role in the event. Recognized by then-U.S. President Barack Obama and French President François Hollande, Sadler received several awards and decorations for his actions. He, along with his friends, was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French president which is the highest French order for military and civil merits.

After the event, Sadler made several television appearances, including a guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and honored with the 2016 Spike Guys Choice Award on Spike TV, among other appearances. He, Skarlatos and Stone co-authored a memoir, titled The 15:17 to Paris, published in August 2016, which detailed the events leading up to the attack, which occurred a year prior to the release of the book. Clint Eastwood directed a biographical film with the same title based on Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone's memoir, starring them, along with actresses Jenna Fischer and Judy Greer. The film was released in early 2018 by Warner Bros. Pictures. Sadler graduated from California State University, Sacramento in 2017.

2015 Thalys train attack

On August 21, 2015, Sadler and his childhood friends Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, were traveling together during a sightseeing vacation in Europe when they boarded Thalys train 9364 from Amsterdam bound to Paris via Brussels. A 25-year-old Moroccan man, believed to be Ayoub El-Khazzani, was in train car No. 12, armed with an AKM assault rifle and equipped with 270 rounds of ammunition. Another passenger tackled the gunman, but failed to stop him. Sadler reported that they heard a gunshot and breaking glass behind them, seeing an employee sprint down the aisle followed by a man with an automatic rifle. Stone woke up from the breaking glass. He tackled the armed suspect, and was stabbed in the neck and eyebrow and almost lost his thumb. Skarlatos took action and seized the assailant's rifle, beating him in the head with the muzzle of it until he was unconscious. Skarlatos stated that "I was thinking about survival," and "[i]t was to survive and for everybody else on the train to make it." Sadler and British man Chris Norman helped to subdue the gunman. Sadler stated that "He was just telling us to give back his gun... But we just carried on beating him up and immobilised him and that was it."

International recognition

After the event, Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone received international attention for their actions in preventing the attack. French president François Hollande awarded Sadler, his friends Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, as well as a British businessman and a French lecturer, France's highest decoration, Knights of the Legion of Honour (Chevaliers de la Légion d'honneur). Hollande said the men "faced [off] with terror" and that they "gave us a lesson in courage, in will, and therefore in hope". French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised them for their bravery, as well as then-British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The White House expressed gratitude for "courage and quick thinking of several passengers, including U.S. service members, who selflessly subdued the attacker..." U.S. President Barack Obama telephoned the three Americans, thanking them for their heroic actions. General Philip M. Breedlove of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, added his voice, calling the three Americans heroes for their actions which "clearly illustrate the courage and commitment our young men and women have all the time, whether they are on duty or on leave."

Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento, California, held a parade to honor Skarlatos, Sadler, Stone, and the victims of the September 11 attacks. Stone was awarded a United States Air Force Airman's Medal and a Purple Heart at a ceremony held at The Pentagon; Sadler was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor.

According to a decree published on September 20, 2018, Sadler (along with Stone and Skarlatos) were naturalized as citizens of France, and according to Le Monde retroactively to April 2018, when they applied for nationality.

Filmography

Awards and decorations

Awards

Decorations

Ribbon	Decoration
	Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor
	Legion of Honour, Knight (France)
	Civic Medal for bravery, 1st Class (Belgium)