Remembering Memorial Day: Posthumous Medal of Honor Recipient Jared C. Monti

This Memorial Day, we thought it an appropriate way to honor the fallen by highlighting a posthumously-awarded Medal of Honor recipient, Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti.

To quote directly from the United States Army’s Center for Military History:

Staff Sergeant Jared C. Monti distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a team leader with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3d Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006.

According to the United States Army’s Center for Military History, Monti was leading a mission wherein the team was gathering intelligence and directing fire when suddenly the 16-man patrol was attacked by a force estimated to have numbered around 50 soldiers — tripling the patrol’s manpower.

As one might imagine, the team was very quickly faced with the very real possibility of being overrun. Thinking quickly, Staff Sergeant Monti set the patrol in a defensive position behind rock formation, and called for indirect fire support. That fire support would be accurately relayed by Monti to enemy positions as close as 50 meters from his position.

Still relaying information and directing fire, Monti fought the enemy personally, making use of both his rifle and a grenade to break an attempted flanking maneuver on his men’s position.

That’s not even what made him so remembered for his acts that day.

Monti discovered in the midst of this hellacious engagement that one of his soldiers was wounded, lying on the ground in between his patrol’s position and the advancing enemy. That didn’t sit right with him.

Completely ignoring the danger to his own person, Monti made two attempts to recover the wounded soldier without success. He was unphased. Staff Sergeant Jared Monti made a third attempt to get to his wounded comrade directly in the face of relentless fire of the enemy.

He would not survive the third attempt.

Inspired by their staff sergeant’s nearly-mad scramble to leave no one behind, the remaining patrol members rallied and repelled the attack, still a force larger than their own.

Greater love hath no man than this.

Don’t forget, folks: today isn’t a day to celebrate: it’s a day to remember and honor.

Honor the fallen.

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