Honor
Sergeant First Class Jared Monti of Raynham, Massachusetts, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor today at the White House. His parents were there to accept it for him.
Monti, a forward observer with 3rd squadron, 71st Cav, 10th Mountain Division, was on a recon mission on June 21, 2006, in Gowardesh on the Afghan-Pak border, when his patrol came under heavy fire. He dragged one wounded solder to safety, and went back three times under heavy fire to get Pvt. Brian Bradbury of St. Joseph, Missouri, before he was killed by a grenade. Bradbury and two others also died.
Here is the Monti family’s site. Here’s the Boston Herald’s original article from July, when Monti was approved for the Medal of Honor:
By KATY JORDAN24 July 2009Army Sgt. Jared C. Monti of Raynham has been posthumously named to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor this week for giving his life as he tried to rescue wounded comrades under heavy fire in Afghanistan in 2006.
The humble soldier never liked medals, his proud father, Paul Monti, recalled yesterday. The ones he earned when he was alive, he just tucked in a drawer. It was the way he dealt with many of his exemplary actions in life, his dad said - he didn’t feel he needed to show off about the good things he was doing.
Jared Monti, a 1994 Bridgewater-Raynham High School graduate, was the son of Paul Monti of Raynham and Janet Monti of Winterville, N.C. Just 30 when he was killed, he “was extremely selfless.
“He spent most of his life doing things for other people, even when young,” his father said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Monti received a telephone call from President Obama informing him that his beloved son has been named as a recipient of the Medal of Honor. It will be awarded in a ceremony at the White House in the fall.
“The president told me that he was very proud of him, that the nation was very proud of him and that I should be proud of him,” Monti said. He described the conversation as emotional and “bittersweet.”
On June 21, 2006, during a heavy firefight in Gowardesh, Afghanistan, Jared Monti dragged one wounded soldier to safety under fire. He went back to get another critically wounded soldier and was killed by a grenade in the process.
Monti recalled his son’s quiet, giving spirit, never wanting any recognition for the often surprising things he did.
At 17, Jared asked to cut down a spruce tree from their yard, because a local family wasn’t going to have a Christmas tree.
Then, “he bought them ornaments, presents, Christmas dinner, and he never told anyone,” his father said.
Only five other Medals of Honor have been awarded since 9/11.
“I would rather have him back than all the medals,” Monti said. “But it’s fitting that (Jared) should be recognized for his act.”
He said his son, whose dream was to serve in the military and then become a history teacher, “would be appalled” by the attention he is receiving now.
“(Jared) would say, `Dad, I was just doing my job,’ ” he said.
Rest in peace, Jared Monti, and thank you. Your actions are an inspiration, and most of us can only hope to have a fraction of your courage and selflessness.
Stop reading here if you are satisfied with the example of Monti’s courage and selflessness, and aren’t interested in the particulars of media coverage or the politics of the matter.
The Associated Press article on today’s ceremony at the White House is excerpted below. I’m sure the reporter and editors meant well, and I hate to engage in media criticism when it comes to a matter like this. But reading the wire copy tonight, it struck me as unnecessary and even offensive that, in an article about a fallen American hero’s day in the national spotlight, the Associated Press felt the need to highlight the president to the extent that the slain soldier was upstaged. Specifically, by beginning each of the first five paragraphs with either with a reference to President Barack Obama or with one of his utterances, with two references to the president before the slain soldier’s name was mentioned.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama today praised a U.S. soldier who three times left cover for an attempted rescue while Taliban bullets and grenades rained around him, ultimately losing his own life while trying to save his comrade on an Afghan battlefield.
A somber Obama, standing just feet from Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti’s parents, told a White House audience that the 30-year-old soldier’s sacrifice should give Americans pause when they throw around words such as duty, honor, sacrifice and heroism.
“Do we really grasp the meaning of these values? Do we truly understand the nature of these virtues, to serve and to sacrifice?” Obama asked. “Jared Monti knew. The Monti family knows. And they know that the actions we honor today were not a passing moment of courage. They were the culmination of a life of character and commitment.”
Presenting his first Medal of Honor, Obama lavished praise on the soldier from Raynham, Mass., who was leading a scouting mission along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan when a helicopter deployed to resupply the patrol blew their cover. Taliban fighters converged, and Monti called for backup.
With vivid details, the president told the story of 16 soldiers who were surrounded and outnumbered by insurgents yet kept their position until backup arrived.
I understand that the president is part of the story, and that his office, attention and presentation bestow an honor on SFC Jared Monti, but I’m not sure his praise and his mood are the most important elements of this story, which is not really about the president, how many Medals of Honor he has presented, or how dramatically he relates someone else’s story. The hero worship here seems to be focused in the wrong direction.
That said, I think Obama’s question quoted above is very much to the point. I don’t like bringing politics into a matter like this, either, but it is difficult to read about praise for the dead and military virtues from someone who has, along with his party, repeatedly sought to dishonor the sacrifices of fallen soldiers by rendering them meaningless. Some of the same people who sought to abandon Iraq — but failed in that effort — would now like to abandon Afghanistan. If Barack Obama truly values the service and sacrifice of men and women like Monti, then he will do everything he can to make them count.
Topics: Afghanistan, courage, military
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:36 pm on Thursday, September 17, 2009
2 Responses to “Honor”
Leave a Reply
Trackback URLYou must be logged in to post a comment.
September 18th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
[...] Honor [...]
September 19th, 2009 at 3:31 am
With all due respect, I would have much rather seen someone else give the sacred medal than someone who despises the military as al-’Bama does.