Obama to award another Medal of Honor
Ralph Lauer/AP File
Army Staff Sergeant Leroy Arthur Petry (right) and two fellow wounded servicemen watch the Dallas Mavericks play the Charlotte Bobcats in an NBA basketball game on Dec. 12, 2009.
President Obama will participate in one of the country’s most sacred ceremonies on Tuesday when he awards the Medal of Honor to a living soldier.
Army Sergeant First Class Leroy Arthur Petry will receive the country’s highest military award after the Ranger lost his right arm below the elbow in May 2008 while throwing away a grenade that an Afghani insurgent had lobbed toward him and two fellow soldiers.
The grenade exploded, but the action was credited with saving their lives.
Petry will become the second living, active duty service member to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
In November, the president awarded the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, the first living, active-duty member to receive the honor since the Vietnam War.
Petry, 31, is a native of Santé Fe, N.M. He enlisted in the Army in September 1999 and completed multiple combat tours to Afghanistan and Iraq that totalled 28 months of deployment, a White House statement said.
Even before Tuesday he is already highly decorated with two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.
“The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty,” the statement said.
Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen.
About Political Intelligence
Glen Johnson is Politics Editor at boston.com and lead blogger for "Political Intelligence." He moved to Massachusetts in the fourth grade, and has covered local, state, and national politics for over 25 years. E-mail him at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen. |
