An Army Ranger who lost his right hand and suffered shrapnel wounds after throwing a grenade away from his fellow soldiers will receive the Medal of Honor July 12, the White House announced Tuesday.
Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry will be the second living Medal of Honor recipient from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Petry, like Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, who received the nation’s highest award for valor in November, will be honored for actions while serving in Afghanistan.
Petry, 31, will be recognized for his actions during combat operations May 26, 2008, in Paktya, Afghanistan.
Okay gentlemen, here’s what I want you to do: drop trau, look down between your thighs, and note what you call “your balls”. Now realize that your sack is pretty much just a pair of slightly engorged labia compared to this guy’s baby batter bag. Seriously. Most guys in America won’t even dive into a cold swimming pool for fear of shrinkage whereas SFC Petry jumps into an ice bath and still has enough of his pendulous junk hanging down to use as floaties… for a hippo. If Arnold Shwarzenegger had SFC Petry’s testosterone toting teabag he not only would have knocked up the maid, he would have knocked up his secretarial staff, the press pool, and the groundskeepers… and half of those were dudes. And yeah, the dudes would be pregnant too. That’s how manly SFC Petry is. Chuck Norris looks at this guy and thinks “um, no fuckin’ way I’m pissing him off”. That’s the caliber we’re talking about here.
Some guys will give you the shirt off your back. SFC Petry will give you the hand off his arm. Seriously. Read on…
On May 26, 2008, the soldiers were conducting a rare daytime raid to capture a high-value target, according to the Army.
Petry was to place himself with the platoon headquarters in the target building once it was secured and serve as the senior noncommissioned officer at the site for the remainder of the operation, according to the Army.
When he learned that one of the assault squads needed help clearing their assigned building, Petry told the platoon leader that he was moving to that squad to provide additional supervision and guidance. After the squad cleared the residential portion of the building, Petry took Pfc. Lucas Robinson to clear the outer courtyard.
At least three enemy fighters, positioned at opposite ends of the courtyard, were waiting for them.
When Petry and Robinson entered the courtyard and crossed an open area, an enemy fighter opened fire. A bullet went through both of Petry’s legs. Robinson was hit in his side plate by another round.
Petry led Robinson to cover behind a chicken coop while the enemy continued to fire. Petry reported that they had made contact and that he and Robinson were wounded.
Sgt. Daniel Higgins, a team leader at the building, moved to the outer courtyard to help his fellow Rangers.
As Higgins evaluated the two wounded soldiers, an enemy fighter threw a grenade that landed about 10 meters away from the three soldiers. The explosion knocked them to the ground and wounded Higgins and Robinson. Two more Rangers, Staff Sgt. James Roberts and Spc. Christopher Gathercole, entered the courtyard and moved to help.
The enemy threw yet another grenade. This time, it landed just a few feet from Higgins and Robinson.
Petry, despite his own wounds and with complete disregard for his own safety, moved toward the grenade, grabbed it and threw it away from his fellow Rangers, according to the Army.
The grenade detonated as Petry released it to throw it back at the enemy. His right hand was catastrophically amputated.
Petry remained calm and even placed a tourniquet on his own arm and reported his injury over the radio.
The dude not only risked his ass while wounded to save his soldiers, TWICE, but he called in his own injuries, TWICE. Oh, and did you notice that one of those times he did it one handed because that is all he had left because he threw the bad guys’ grenade back at them?!? This dude is so studly that he when they have the Medal of Honor ceremony for him they will require that every woman in the room wear a diaphragm for fear of area impregnation when he walks through the room.
SFC Petry, we at The Sniper salute you. If you run into any of us, we owe you a beer. Oh, and a shot. Oh, and our freedom.
Thank you.
Sua Sponte.
Tags: Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, grenade, Hero, Leroy Arthur Petry, Leroy Petry, lost hand, Medal of Honor, MoH, SFC Leroy Petry, SFC Petry, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry, SSG Salvatore Giunta, Taliban
Precisely.
Leadership.
Petry HAS it. Boatloads of it.
‘Nuff said!
Still taking care of his boys.
He serves at Joint Base Lewis-McChord as a liaison for the SOCOM Care Coalition, where he tracks and monitors injured Rangers returning from combat operations to the initial place of care to home station care.
I have a feeling I know what it says on his wallet. . .