He lunged forward, toward the live grenade. Instead, this wounded Ranger, this 28-year-old man with his whole life ahead of him, this husband and father of four, did something extraordinary. That’s what Sergeant Leroy Petry could have done. And then a second grenade lands - this time, only a few feet away.Įvery human impulse would tell someone to turn away.

An enemy grenade explodes nearby, wounding Leroy’s two comrades. He hurls a grenade at the enemy, giving cover to a third Ranger who rushes to their aid. He’s bleeding badly, but he summons the strength to lead the other Ranger to cover, behind a chicken coop.

And that’s when the enemy opens up with their AK-47s. Within minutes, Leroy - then a Staff Sergeant - and another soldier are pushing ahead into a courtyard, surrounded by high mud walls. Soon, the helicopters touch down, and our Rangers immediately come under fire. But it’s considered a risk worth taking because intelligence indicates that a top al Qaeda commander is in that compound. And their target is an insurgent compound. Helicopters carrying dozens of elite Army Rangers race over the rugged landscape. It’s May 26, 2008, in.the remote east of Afghanistan, near the mountainous border of Pakistan. I want to take you back to the circumstances that led to this day. Yet, as we near the 10th anniversary of the attacks that thrust our nation into war, this is also an occasion to pay tribute to a soldier, and a generation, that has borne the burden of our security during a hard decade of sacrifice. Today, we honor a singular act of gallantry. And as always, we are humbled by the presence of members of the Medal of Honor Society. We’re honored to welcome more than 100 of Leroy’s family and friends, many from his home state of New Mexico, as well as his fellow Rangers from the legendary Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

Last state survival hero medals