Spencer Stone is best known for being an actual hero. Alongside two of his childhood friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, Spencer was able to stop a gunman who was about to attack a Paris-bound train in August 2015. Stone’s action to prevent the attack made him an international hero who earned him honors from both. President Obama who awarded him the Aviator’s Medal and a purple heart and the Frenchman François Hollande who honored him with the Legion of Honor, the highest French distinction of merit. Many have since become increasingly interested in what’s going on in Spencer Stone’s professional and private life, which we’ll discuss below.
Spencer Stone bio
On August 13, 1992, Spencer Stone was born in small town Sacramento, California, the son of Brian and Joyce Stone. He was raised in Carmicheal, a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento. Stone was still a young boy when he met and befriended his future co-heroes Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler. The boys who share the same strong religious beliefs, as well as a spirit of devotion to the service of their nation, have since become inseparable.
The trio attended Freedom Christian School in Fair Oaks, California, while Stone later moved to Del Campo High School, still in Fair Oaks. In high school, Spencer Stones, who her mother has said since childhood wanted to be in the military, was very active playing on the football and basketball teams.
Her high school teacher and basketball coach Dave Nobis recalled after fame that Spencer Stone cared about others at school and had a blue-collar attitude. Stone graduated from high school in 2012 and enlisted in the US Airforce soon after. He served at Travis Air Force Base in California and was promoted to Senior Airman in 2015 for his daring deeds while serving in France.
Stone enrolled in the Airman Leadership School in January 2015 to learn the leadership skills needed to become a non-commissioned officer. It was in August 2015 during a vacation trip to Europe with his best friends that the shooter incident happened.
The men were on board a Thalys 9364 train from Amsterdam traveling to Paris via Brussels when a 25-year-old Moroccan man, Ayoub El-Khazzani, armed with an AKM assault rifle loaded with 270 rounds, launched an attack on passengers. Several people tried unsuccessfully to stop the man before Stone attacked and disarmed him. El-Khazzani stabbed Stone in the neck and eyebrows and nearly cut off his thumb with a box cutter. His friends stepped in and the trio emerged as national heroes. On the other hand, El-Khazzani in May 2018 was still in pre-trial detention awaiting trial.
Ayoub El-Khazzani was later reportedly linked to ISIS, but he claimed his attack was not linked to any terrorist group but was merely an attempt to steal valuables from passengers.
In addition to the medals Stone received from the American and French presidents, he was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant. In October of that year, Stone faced another life-threatening incident when a Californian man, James Tran, stabbed him following an argument at a bar. Fortunately, he survived fatal injuries to his heart, lungs and liver after open-heart surgery at the University of California Davis Medical Center.
Investigative reports revealed that Tran, at the time was unaware of Stone’s publicity, so the attack was not a means of revenge for the attack he had prevented on the Thalys train . Tran was brought in and later pleaded guilty, after which he was sentenced on May 12, 2017 to 9 years in state prison.
Spencer Stone left the US Air Force in November 2016 to focus on international relations. Stone intends to train in the field.
Acting career
Spencer Stone’s fame as a hero also attracted Hollywood veteran actor and director, Clint Eastwood, to be precise. After his departure from the Airforce, Stone and his friends made numerous public appearances and, with the help of international journalist Jeffrey E. Stern, wrote about their impact on the Thalys train in a memoir titled: Le 15h17 à Paris. The book was published in August 2016.
About a year later, Eastwood began making a book in a movie of the same name with Stone as well as his friends playing themselves. The film was released on February 9, 2018. Stone is unlikely to pursue a full-time acting career.
Parents, siblings
Spencer Stone was born to a father named Brian Stone and a mother named Joyce Eskel. Not much is known about his parents except that they are regular Americans living in Sacramento, California.
However, following the train incident, Spencer’s parents as with her friends’ parents received quite a bit of media attention. Stone’s father, Brian, told NBC News over the phone how he wasn’t surprised his son had the guts to launch the first attack on the shooter. His reason was that he knew his son was a nimble person who wanted a career as a firefighter or paramedic after his time in the military.
Spencer Stone has two siblings who are both older than him. They include a brother named Everett and a sister named Kelly. The Stones have it all for strength, as his brother Everett works as a patrolman with the California Highway Patrol in Redwood City, California.
the size
Spencer Stone is a fairly tall young man who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. The international hero has blond hair.