STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis lost his life in 2013 while shielding a Polish soldier from an enemy combatant in Afghanistan.

A new push would see a military installation in the European nation named for the Staten Islander.

In a letter sent Friday, Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island/ South Brooklyn) asked acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper to urge the Polish government to name any future installation housing U.S. troops after Ollis.

“His sacrifice, in putting a Polish soldier’s well-being above his own, exemplifies what it means to be an American Soldier,” Rose wrote in the letter.

“Naming this base after Staff Sergeant Ollis would be a powerful statement and genuine illustration of the bond between soldiers from all nations engaged in the global war on terror.”

Ollis, 24, a lifelong New Dorp resident, sacrificed his life Aug. 28, 2013, while shielding Lieutenant Karol Cierpica, of Poland, a member of coalition forces, from a suicide attacker in the Ghazni province.

On June 8, the Army posthumously awarded Ollis the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony at the Oakwood VFW Post that bears his name.

Ollis, 24, sacrificed his own life on Aug. 28, 2013, while shielding, seen here, Lieutenant Karol Cierpica from a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel)

Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James C. McConville bestowed the Army’s second highest award to his parents, Robert and Linda Ollis, in the ceremony attended by Cierpica and several local elected officials, including Rose, who is also a combat veteran of the War in Afghanistan.

In his letter, he described the nature of Ollis’ heroism in protecting Cierpica, and cited testimony from the Polish lieutenant.

“If Michael Ollis had not joined me, it would have been a Polish flag draped over a coffin, not an American one,” Cierpica said.

In addition to the Distinguished Service Cross, Ollis was awarded the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, and the Polish Armed Forces Gold Medal -- the highest honor the nation bestows on foreign soldiers.

TRUMP, POLISH LEADER REACH AGREEMENT

The letter to Secretary Esper follows a June 12 announcement from President Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda that 1,000 non-combat American military personnel will be deployed to Poland as an addition to the already 3,000 troops present in the country on a rotating basis.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda arrive for a joint press conference in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Olivier Douliery/ Abaca Press/TNS)TNS

Trump signed the agreement sending the troops to Poland from those already stationed in Germany, but did not commit to the establishment of a permanent military base in Poland.

The Polish government has expressed interest in that base, and has committed $2 billion to fund it, the two presidents said during a September press conference.

Duda said he hopes the move would serve as a counter to Russian aggression.

“I was smiling when talking to Mr. President,” Duda said through a translator at the September press conference. “I said that I would very much like for us to set up a permanent American base in Poland which we would call Fort Trump.”

Trump did not say whether he would support the base being named in his honor, noting that the name is ultimately up to Poland, but said he was aware of the criticism he would receive in the media following such a move, according to White House transcripts.

The Department of Defense did not return a request for comment on Rose’s letter or the naming of the base by the time of publication.

“Michael Ollis is an American hero,” Rose said. “He represents the best our Island and our country has to offer and I truly believe there’s no better person to name an American military base in Poland after than him.”