This story is about a unit that kept a promise for a fallen soldier. Staff Sergeant Roberto Loeza, Jr. promised his sister, Lluvia, that he would be back from a 2011 deployment in time for her high school graduation. But SSG Loeza fell in action during that mission. From DVIDS;
Roberto’s brother, Esteban, wanted to surprise their sister. He sent out a message through Facebook to Roberto’s old unit asking for volunteers to stand in his place. The call was answered immediately.
Though the majority of the unit is deployed once again to Afghanistan, the Battalion’s rear detachment known as Task Force Stalwart West led by the Battalion Executive Officer, Maj. George Chigi, along with Maj. Christopher Penwarden and Sgt. 1st Class Bernie Brooks, organized a group of Soldiers to attend Lluvia’s graduation.
More than 30 Soldiers from 1-4 Infantry Battalion attended the graduation. Also in attendance were several Soldiers from the Ft Bliss area that knew Roberto well including Penwarden and Sgt. 1st Class Jason Yeazel.
Lluvia was completely surprised by the Straight and Stalwart Battalion Soldiers who gathered in their Army Service Uniforms. Making the event even more special for her, Chigi was given permission by the school district’s superintendent to present Lluvia with her high school diploma.
She looks appreciative;
The unit involved is my former company, C Company, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry. When COB6 and I were with them, they were part of the 2d Armored Division (Forward) at Garlstedt, Germany, now they are with the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas. I’m proud of them.
I got the email yesterday as I was driving home from Chicago:
On July 21, 2014, President Barack Obama will award Ryan M. Pitts, a former active duty Army Staff Sergeant, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry. Staff Sergeant Pitts will receive the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions while serving as a Forward Observer with 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, during combat operations at Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler, in the vicinity of Wanat Village in Kunar Province, Afghanistan on July 13, 2008.
Staff Sergeant Pitts will be the ninth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. He and his family will join the President at the White House to commemorate his example of selfless service.
I’d been waiting for this one for quite a while. And I haven’t been this happy about a recipient before, because I know Ryan, and he’s one of the most wonderful people you could meet.
A kind act toward Soldiers by a woman in South Carolina has resulted in Soldiers from Fort Leavenworth and all over the world giving her son encouragement to fight brain cancer.
Two days before Thanksgiving 2008, a group of Soldiers eating at a restaurant in Colombia, S.C., were surprised when they discovered their lunch had been paid for.
Rachel Pertile tried to pay the bill anonymously, but was caught and thanked by the Soldiers before she could leave the restaurant. The day after Thanksgiving, Pertile’s 5-year-old son, Evan, was diagnosed with brain cancer…
Later, on a flight home, Rachel met someone….
Sitting next to Pertile on the flight was Brenda Bowen, who works in Classroom Services at the Command and General Staff College. Bowen offered Pertile an ear and a shoulder, and when she found out Evan’s affinity for “Army guys,” she knew there was something she could do to help.
“She told me about her son and how he loves Soldiers, and I thought ‘I bet I can get a few Soldiers to send him messages,’” Bowen said.
After the flight, Bowen contacted Col. Bob Burns, the director of the Center for Army Tactics at CGSC.
“We start getting faculty and the students to send notes to the boy,” Burns said.
SSG Ryan Pitts, 173rd, 2-503, Chosen Few, is visiting with me this weekend. SSG Pitts was wounded at the Battle of Wanat on 13 July 2008 and is currently healing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. There’ll be a story tomorrow about why SSG Pitts initially planned this visit.
But back to Evan…
I mentioned Evan’s story to SSG Pitts and asked if he was interested in going to visit Evan. I barely finished the question before he said “yes!” So this morning SSG Pitts got up, put on his ACUs and we drove to the Target House to visit Evan and his mom. I had called Rachel to make sure Evan still felt like having company. She said he had been excited for a few days about SSG Pitts’ visit so off we went.
I called Rachel to let her know we were on our way over to Target House II. She asked that we just come on up to their room. When we got there we knocked on the door. I stepped to the side so that Evan would only see SGT Pitts when the door opened. And boy did that door swing open wide and fast. When it did there stood the cutest little guy in the world with a smile from ear to ear. SSG Pitts is very tall and I laughed to myself as I watched Evan’s head bend further and further back as he looked up towards SSG Pitts’ face. We walked in and Evan was racing around the room. Not what we expected since he had chemo yesterday and a transfusion today and his counts are, according to his mom, at zero today.
Introductions and hugs between the adults then Rachel invited us to have a seat. SSG Pitts had barely settled into the couch when…
Anyway, you should go read what Leta said about Evan Pertile and Ryan.
But then I got to meet Ryan like a year later. In fact, I spent some time in a tent with him in Montana on our Heroes and Horses trip. But back to Ryan’s heroics real quick, from MIlitary Times:
Pitts, the forward observer, and Sgt. Matthew Gobble began to put together a request for indirect fire from the OP. But before they could complete the call, at about 4:20 a.m., the first burst of machine-gun fire ripped through the air.
The enemy had infiltrated Wanat, setting up firing positions and weapons caches in the town’s bazaar, hotel complex, homes and mosque as they launched a full-scale assault, focusing their fires on VPB Kahler’s key defensive weapon systems and positions.
Within minutes, the enemy had destroyed the TOW system and injured the soldiers manning the 120mm mortar firing pit, setting it on fire, according to the narrative.
“I got knocked out of the center position into one of our northern fighting positions,” Pitts said. “Spc. [Tyler] Stafford was also wounded, Sgt. Gobble was wounded. It was in those opening moments that Spc. Matt Phillips started to return fire — he threw a hand grenade and was killed by the RPG that came in. [Spc.] Gunnar Zwilling was killed. It was just a barrage of RPGs, and it was very disorienting.”
At that point, a sort of rescue unit down below started heading up to where Pitts was:
That team — Staff Sgt. Sean Samaroo, Sgt. Israel Garcia, Spc. Jacob Sones and Spc. Michael Denton, — scrambled up the terraces to reach the OP.
“I didn’t know they were coming,” Pitts said.
Sones started treating Pitts’ wounds while Garcia pulled security, and Samaroo and Denton began checking on the casualties.
The scene at the OP “wasn’t good,” said Denton, who would earn the Silver Star for his actions that day. “I found my best bud Hovater laying up there. I took ammo from Hovater’s body, told him I loved him.”
He then went into the crow’s nest, where he found Ayers slumped over the M240B. Denton gently moved Ayers and began manning the machine gun.
The paratroopers at the OP eventually huddled up in the southern fighting position, while Denton, who was wounded but still able to stand, tried to pull security.
“I cleared a double feed [on a rifle] and I realized how bad my right hand was,” Denton said. “The bone was sticking out of my hand.”
Anyway, you need to go read the whole thing, but Denton (more commonly known by us as “Mongo”) was with us in the tent for a week in Montana. By day we rode horses up in the mountains, and by night we drank a ton and a half of adult beverages and told stories of our time in the military. Listening to Denton and Pitts talk about Wanat was tough….it was simply hell on Earth.
When I say he’s the nicest, most humble guy ever, I’m not kidding. Watch this video and you be the judge.
Either way, I salute Ryan as a hero, as a friend, and as a Red Sox fan! (He and I bonded over our New England heritage.) I honestly can not wait to go to the White House for this ceremony. I’m even going to buy a brand new suit to wear. No one could ever be more deserving of acolades than Ryan.
I saw him last month at the Kyle White MOH ceremony, and he ran right over and we enjoyed a beverage and a few laughs together. He’s married now, has a young son, a good job and a beautiful wife. I’m just so happy for the guy. The MOH is a big weight though. I’ll be praying for him, but he truly is one of the greats.
The White House has released the announcement that the Medal of Honor will be awarded to Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts of 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, serving as the Forward Observer at the Battle of Wanat in Afghanistan on July 13, 2008. The award will be made on July 21, 2014 at the White House;
Staff Sergeant Pitts enlisted in the Army in August 2003 as a Fire Support Specialist (13F), primarily responsible for the intelligence activities of the Army’s field artillery team. After completion of training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and follow-on parachutist training at the U.S. Army Airborne School, Fort Benning, Georgia, he was assigned to Camp Ederle, Vicenza, Italy, as a radio operator with the 4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment and 173rd Airborne Brigade where he deployed to Afghanistan. His final assignment was with the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment “The Rock”, 173rd Airborne Brigade as a Forward Observer which included a second combat tour to Afghanistan.
[…]
His personal awards include the Bronze Star Medal w/ “V” Device, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal w/ three Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal with Bronze Clasp and two Loops, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Two Campaign Stars, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral “4”, NATO Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Valorous Unit Award, Combat Action Badge, Pathfinder Badge and Parachutist Badge.
Col. Gregory Gadson is one of my personal heroes because of how he lives his life and for what he’s accomplished in recent years. He became the garrison commander at Fort Belvoir, VA two years ago, and according to WTOP, he now plans to retire;
Before taking command at Fort Belvoir, he headed up the Army’s Wounded Warrior program for two years. He wanted to be a quiet example to those who were going through the same experience he already endured.
In 2007, the colonel was seriously injured in Iraq while returning from a memorial service for two soldiers. His truck was hit by an IED; he lost both of his legs above the knee.
“Without saying anything, I could just say there’s life after injury and that you can come out on the other side,” Gadson says. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help since you can’t do this alone.”
Gadson says he owes his resolve to faith, family and friends.
“I refused to let my injuries define me because of their love, unconditional love by my family. They didn’t view me any differently; I was still Greg,” he says.
In case you missed his acting debut in Battleship, here you go;
At about 2:15 Eastern Time today, the President will award medically retired Kyle Carpenter the Medal of Honor. He shielded his mates from a grenade blast with his own body. From USAToday;
“I don’t think I’d ever thought about what I would do in that situation,” Carpenter said by phone from Columbia, S.C., where he attends the University of South Carolina. “I don’t think there is any way to know until you’re faced with it. But I did what I was trained to do, and that is protect my fellow Marines at all costs.”
[…]
Fellow soldiers pleaded for him to “fight” and “hang on.” He recalled their voices sounded far away.
“I thought about my family,” he said, “and how sad and disappointed they would be that I didn’t make it out of Afghanistan alive.”
He said a final prayer. That’s the last thing he remembers before waking up in a room at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., with Christmas stockings hanging on the walls.
You can watch Carpenter receive his medal here – but keep in mind that it’s an honest-to-goodness miracle that he’s even here among us.
ChipNASA sends us a link to Fox News which reports that Sergeant First Class John Taffe, a 55-year-old from Alameda, CA graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO yesterday;
“When I left for Missouri, my 15-year-old son said, ‘Dad, I hope the Army knocks you off your high horse.’ Now I can tell him, ‘Nope. It just made me stronger,’” he told the paper.
Taffe said he hopes the additional money he makes working in the reserve will help pay for his kids’ college. He had worked in the Navy for 14 years and working six years in the Reserve will increase his benefits. He also said the Sept. 11 attacks inspired him to join the reserves.
Retired MSG Pat Watkins, formerly of the 7th Special Forces Group, US Army, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross last week.
The award was a bit delayed. The heroic acts for which it was presented occurred on 23 August 1968 – in Da Nang, South Vietnam. At the time, Watkins was a Staff Sergeant.
We talked about the late CSM Martin Barreras last week when he gave the last full measure of devotion. DVIDS posts the video of his last procession through the streets of Tucson
Barreras joined the Army in 1988 after serving in the Marine Corps for five years, according to information from the division.
He served for 22 years in the 75th Ranger Regiment, serving in 1st and 2nd Battalions, the Special Troops Battalion and the regimental headquarters.
In the Ranger Regiment, Barreras served in virtually every enlisted duty and leadership position and completed multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Operation Just Cause in Panama, Operation Restore/Uphold Democracy in Haiti, and other special operations contingency missions.
I wish that I had known him because his example stands in stark contrast to many of the sergeant majors that I have known.
