[Vision2020] Pentagon Hall of Heroes Induction Ceremony

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the US Department of Defense at:

http://www.defenselink.mil/advisories/advisory.aspx?advisoryid=3153

---------------------------------------------------

Pentagon Hall Of Heroes Induction Ceremony

Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III, Secretary of the Army
Pete Geren, and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli
will participate in a ceremony inducting Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C.
Monti into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., EDT,
Friday, Sept. 18, 2009, at the Pentagon auditorium (6th corridor, basement
level).

Monti will be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously at a White House
ceremony scheduled for Sept. 17.  His parents will be present for the
unveiling of the Hall of Heroes plaque on Friday, Sept. 18.

Monti is recognized for actions above and beyond the call of duty during
combat that cost him his life on June 21, 2006, in Afghanistan.  He is the
sixth service member to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Global
War on Terror, the second to receive it for actions in Afghanistan.

-----------------------

Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti
http://www.iraqwarheroes.com/photos10/jared_monti01.jpg

-----------------------

Medal of Honor Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his
life above and beyond the call of duty. Sergeant First Class Monti
distinguished himself at the cost of his life while serving as a team
leader with the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3d Squadron, 71st
Cavalry Regiment in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on 21 June 2006. On
that day, Sergeant First Class Monti was leading a mission to gather
intelligence and to direct fires against the enemy in support of a
squadron-size interdiction mission. While at an observation position on
top of a mountain ridge, Sergeant First Class Monti’s sixteen-man patrol
came under attack by a superior force consisting of as many as 50 enemy
fighters. On the verge of being overrun, Sergeant First Class Monti
directed his patrol to set up a hasty defensive position behind a
collection of rocks. He then began to call for indirect fire from a nearby
support base; accurately bringing the rounds upon the enemy who had closed
to within 50 meters of his position. While still calling for fire,
Sergeant First Class Monti personally engaged the enemy with his rifle and
a grenade, successfully disrupting an attempt to flank the patrol.
Sergeant First Class Monti then realized that one of his Soldiers was
lying wounded and exposed in the open ground between the advancing enemy
and the patrol’s position. With complete disregard for his own safety,
Sergeant First Class Monti moved from behind the cover of the rocks into
the face of withering enemy fire. After closing within meters of his
wounded Soldier, the heavy volume of fire forced Sergeant First Class
Monti to seek cover. Sergeant First Class Monti then gathered himself and
rose again to maneuver through a barrage of enemy fire to save his wounded
Soldier. Again, Sergeant First Class Monti was driven back by relentless
enemy fire. Unwilling to leave his Soldier wounded and exposed, Sergeant
First Class Monti made another attempt to move across open terrain and
through the enemy fire to the aide of his wounded Soldier. On his third
attempt, Sergeant First Class Monti was mortally wounded, sacrificing his
own life in an effort to save his Soldier. Sergeant First Class Monti’s
acts of heroism inspired the patrol to fight off the larger enemy force.
Sergeant First Class Monti’s immeasurable courage and uncommon valor were
in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect
great credit upon himself, 3d Squadron 71st Cavalry Regiment, the 3d
Brigade Combat Team, the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), and the
United States Army

---------------------------------------------------

Pro patria,

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the
tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."

-- Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.