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Medal of Honor Recipient Memorialized in Hall of Heroes
(September 19, 2009) |
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| WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2009 – The father of
Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, who posthumously
received the Medal of Honor, remembered his son today as a
person defined by selflessness.
Monti, then a staff sergeant, was killed June 21, 2006,
after making several attempts to rescue a fellow soldier
wounded while battling Taliban insurgents in Gowardesh,
Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan. |
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Left to right, Deputy
Defense Secretary William J. Lynn, Paul Monti,
Janet Monti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army
Peter W. Chiarelli stand in honor during the
unveiling of the plaque for Medal of Honor
recipient U.S. Army Sgt. 1st First Class Jared
C. Monti during an induction into the Hall of
Heroes ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 18, 2009.
DoD photo by U.S.
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Molly A. Burgess
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“I think Jared received more in his life
than anybody I can think of. But he never got anything for
himself, because no matter what we sent him, he gave it
away,” Paul Monti said, referring to the care packages his
son received in Afghanistan, the contents of which he
routinely doled out to Afghan kids.
“In the end,” the soldier's father continued, “he gave his
life for someone else.”
Monti risked his life on a rocky ridge in Afghanistan, where
his 16-man patrol found itself under attack by 50 Taliban
insurgents. He quickly called in artillery support when he
noticed that one of his soldiers was wounded and in danger.
He twice braved massive enemy rifle and rocket fire in
attempts to reach his wounded comrade lying on the ground
some 20 yards away.
Forced to turn back both times and taking shelter behind a
rock, Monti contemplated his next move. He decided to give
it another try, but he was killed in that final attempt.
Those fateful decisions earned him a posthumous promotion to
sergeant first class and the Medal of Honor that President
Barack Obama presented to the heroic soldier's family at a
White House ceremony yesterday.
“Faced with overwhelming enemy fire, Jared could have stayed
where he was behind that rock,” Obama said during the
ceremony. But, he said, “that was not the kind of soldier
Jared Monti was.”
Friends, family and fellow soldiers from the 10th Mountain
Division's 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat
Team, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., were on hand today as
Defense Department and military leaders once again honored
Monti and added his name to the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.
Army Secretary Pete Geren recounted tales about Monti's
childhood in Raynham, Mass., where the he is remembered for
the selflessness and humility he displayed even as a young
man.
“From his earliest days, Jared had a heart for the needy and
less fortunate,” Geren said. “At age 17, he learned of a
family in Raynham who didn't have a Christmas tree. So he
chopped one of the trees down in his own front yard and gave
it to that family.”
Later, as a soldier in Afghanistan, he distributed the gifts
he received from back home to the Afghan children he met.
This show of generosity earned him popularity among the
Afghan youth. “The Afghan kids knew Jared by name,” Geren
said. “‘Mr. Monti' they called him – and they would rush up
to him whenever came by.”
Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said that in
losing Jared, the Monti family had endured a loss few will
ever know.
“Sergeant 1st Class Jared C. Monti: we salute him, we honor
him, and we will always remember him,” he said.
Monti's name will appear alongside the 3,447 other troops to
receive the Medal of Honor of since Congress established the
highest military decoration in 1862. | |
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009
President
Barack Obama's Presentation
of Medal of Honor to SFC Jared C. Monti's Parents
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