The state's highest military honor for heroism has been awarded to a Long Islander.

Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Marlana Watson, of Lindenhurst, was given the Medal of Valor during a ceremony Wednesday in Farmingdale.

Last November, the 28-year-old ran to help two teenagers who were shot near her home in Syracuse.

Watson quickly ran downstairs to make sure her 5-year-old son Lassan was OK. When she saw him sound asleep, she opened her front door and found the two victims.

"I used his sock to hold pressure on his back," said Watson. "I told somebody who was standing to come over and hold it...I went to the other guy, put pressure on his leg. He was bleeding. He was shot twice."

Watson, who now lives in Lindenhurst, said 11 years of training with the Army National Guard and a yearlong tour in Afghanistan helped her help those boys.

"Anybody in that particular situation would have done the same thing I did," said Watson.