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'Soldier's NCO' First To Earn Medal Of Honor In Afghanistan
(September 16, 2009) |
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Then Staff Sgt. Jared Monti
in the mountains of Afghanistan sometime before
the battle June 21, 2006, in which he gave his
life trying to help another Soldier. Photo
courtesy of 10th Mountain Division |
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WASHINGTON (ANS, Sept. 14, 2009) -- Ask anyone - family,
friends, Soldiers - who knew Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti of the 10th Mountain
Division, and they'll tell you he was the best friend, best Soldier, best
noncommissioned officer, best person they ever knew.
Model Soldier
"He set an example in every way, shape and form," said former Capt. Ross A.
Berkoff, the unit's intelligence officer, explaining that Monti was known as the
best NCO in the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment (Recon), 3rd Brigade Combat
Team.
"He was willing to stand up for his Soldiers," added now-Staff Sgt. Christopher
J. Grzecki. "He didn't care what the guy above him thought of him as long as he
knew that he was doing the right thing to take care of his guys."
Monti would have done anything for his Soldiers, so after the initial shock, no
one was surprised that he sacrificed his life to save another Soldier during an
intense firefight with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, June 21, 2006.
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First for Afghanistan
He was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class the following day and will
be the first Soldier awarded the Medal of Honor for Operation Enduring Freedom
Thursday, when President Barack Obama presents the nation's highest honor to
Monti's parents in a White House ceremony. Monti will also be honored in a
Pentagon ceremony Friday.
Monti earned the Medal when he and 15 other Soldiers became the first American
servicemembers to ever set foot in the Gremen Valley, near the Pakistan border.
Reports had showed insurgents were in the area, but not their exact location,
their numbers or the types of weapons they had.
Kill Teams
Monti's patrol consisted of two six-man "Kill Teams" led by now-Sgt. 1st Class
Christopher M. Cunningham and now-Staff Sgt. John Hawes, combinations of snipers
and forward observers. Because the mission was dangerous, the teams were
assigned several extra scouts, a medic and Monti. Although Monti had helped
build the Kill Teams with his best men, he hadn't been out on a mission with
them yet and the men were excited to work together.
They were on a reconnaissance mission to provide their command with information
on the enemy before the 3rd BCT began a larger push into the region for
Operation Gowardesh Thrust. They were supposed to stay hidden - not an easy feat
for 16 men - and avoid engaging the enemy if possible; but Hawes said both he
and several other Soldiers had gut feelings that something wasn't right.
Dropped off at a mortar-firing position near the Gowardesh Bridge on the evening
of June 17, the Soldiers began a difficult climb up the mountain the next day.
Moving mostly at night to avoid enemy detection, they climbed for three days
before reaching their first observation point at a plateau 2,600 meters above
sea level the evening of June 20, the night before the operation was scheduled
to begin.
But unit commanders were forced to push the attack back at least 24 hours.
Cunningham said they knew they had to push forward because of the danger of
detection, but they needed more food and water.
A resupply was supposed to occur after dark, protecting their position, but
Hawes was chagrined to see large white packages dropping less than 150 meters
from them in broad daylight. When some of the men returned with the supplies, it
was to see a man watching them with military-grade binoculars - unusual for the
average Afghan villager.
Overwhelming firepower
A couple of hours later as dusk was falling and Monti, Cunningham and Hawes were
discussing their options, a rocket-propelled grenade flew over their heads and
they were overwhelmed by a stunning amount of firepower. Some of the Soldiers'
rifles were shot out of their hands while others couldn't even reach their
weapons. Monti got on the radio to call in indirect fire and air support, and
Hawes remembered the Soldiers taking cover behind a few boulders and passing
weapons back and forth to take the best shots.
Cunningham soon realized Pfc. Brian J. Bradbury was missing. He was injured and
laying about 20 meters away in a slight depression. Cunningham was closer and
offered to get him, but Monti refused, saying Bradbury was his Soldier.
He handed his radio to Sgt. Chris J. Grzecki and said, "You are now Chaos
three-five," his call sign, and ran toward Bradbury. The wood line erupted with
intense fire aimed at Monti. He made it a few meters before he was pushed back
behind a small stone wall where another Soldier lay dead. He ran out again, was
pushed behind the wall again and then ran into fire a third time.
Running into fire
"Monti ran straight for Bradbury as we all provided covering fire," Hawes wrote
to Monti's mother Janet. "I remember seeing Monti running and I was firing...as
close as I dared.... Just as he was about to reach Bradbury, I ran out of ammo
and as I dropped behind the rock to change magazines...I heard an RPG...explode.
Monti's scream that he had been hit followed shortly after." Monti said he made
his peace with God and asked someone to tell his parents he loved them before
falling silent.
"It's not surprising in any way," said Cunningham. "I know he knew what he was
going up against to help out his Soldier. I know he knew the consequences....
Ultimately, he knew he needed to get his guy."
Air support came a few minutes later and they finally pushed the insurgents back
as darkness fell. The Soldiers spent an anxious night and after helicopters
arrived to evacuate the dead the next morning, the patrol high-tailed it down
the mountain.
An unwanted honor
Medals were the last thing on Cunningham and Hawes' minds (both men were later
awarded Silver Stars and Grzecki and other Soldiers received the Bronze Star
with Valor or the Army Commendation Medal with Valor), but when their commander
said he was putting Monti in for the Medal of Honor, both men knew he deserved
it.
And when the award finally came through and the president called Monti's father
Paul, he called Cunningham with the overwhelming, bittersweet news.
"I have a tremendous feeling of pride," Paul Monti said. "But I still can't get
over not having my son. I would give all of this up, all of it, everything, just
to have him back, just to be able to hug him one more time."
Monti's family and friends agree that the award would have been the last thing
he wanted. Monti was humble to a fault and most of his family didn't know he had
received two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart on a previous deployment until his
funeral because he believed each award represented the death of someone's son,
father or husband.
"It's nothing you want," Hawes explained. "When you start getting into that
level of award, especially the Silver Star and higher, it's sounds cool when you
read about it in a book, but when you realize what it takes to earn it ... it
really has to hit the fan and friends and stuff die, and that's not worth
anything."
He would have wanted the medal to go to his men, Monti's mother said.
"To him it would represent every single Soldier, Marine, Sailor, whoever,
whether they're still in Afghanistan or Iraq or home; whether they came home
alive or in a casket; came home spiritually, emotionally or physically
wounded.... This (award) is for all of them," Janet Monti said.
Living on through his men
Monti taught Hawes and Grzecki how to be NCOs and take care of their men, and
Cunningham explained that he had the "luxury" of working with Monti's men. They
loved him so much and emulated him to the extent that Cunningham felt like he
was still working with Monti.
Hawes is now stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C., and has shared Monti's story with
his holdover recruits, inspiring several to stay in the Army, so Monti's values,
the Army values, continue on today. | |
By Elizabeth M. Collins
Copyright 2009
Reprinted from Amy News Service / Army News Service
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