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One month ago, we reported on the White House announcement that President Barack Obama would award Ryan M. Pitts, a former active duty Army Staff Sergeant, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry.
Today that moment came.
At a moving ceremony in the White House this afternoon, attended by SSG Pitt’s wife Amy and their one-year-old son Lucas, the President of the United States did indeed bestow the nation’s highest military honor on a modest and unassuming soldier “for his unwavering courage in one of the fiercest battles of the Afghanistan war.”
President Barack Obama and Staff Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts bow their heads during the benediction at the Medal of Honor ceremony for SSG Pitts in the East Room of the White House. At left is SSG Pitt’s wife Amy and one-year-old son Lucas. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Staff Sergeant Pitts is the ninth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Honor to former Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Pitts at the White House, July 21, 2014. U.S. Army photo by Lisa Ferdinando
We have already described that unwavering courage here, but please watch and listen below as the President recounts Pitts’ courageous actions while serving as a Forward Observer during combat operations at Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler, in Afghanistan on July 13, 2008.
But quoting Ryan’s “There was valor everywhere,” the President also paid tribute “ to all who served with such valor that day: shielding their wounded buddies with their own bodies, picking up unexploded missiles with their hands and carrying them away, running through the gunfire to reinforce that post, fighting through their injuries and never giving up.”
Read the Stars and Stripes description of the day and the actions which led to the award of the Medal of Honor to SSgt Ryan Pitts.
But also read here what this hero plans to tell his son — who’s now just a year old now — when he is ready to hear the story.
Pictured in April at their home in Nashua, N.H., are Ryan Pitts, Amy Pitts, and 1-year-old son Lucas. Photo courtesy U.S. Army
Tomorrow, the U.S. Army will induct former Staff Sgt. Ryan Pitts into the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. The Pentagon ceremony will add Pitts’ name to the distinguished roster in the Hall of Heroes, the Defense Department’s permanent display of record for all recipients of the Medal of Honor.
Lead photo: President Barack Obama and former Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Pitts enter the East Room of the White House for the Medal of Honor ceremony. (White House photo)
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.