Deliberately exposing himself to machine gun and rocket-propelled
grenade fire, Jared Monti sacrificed himself attempting not once but
three times to rescue one of his squad members from the "kill zone"
after his patrol came under attack by insurgents on a mountain in
Afghanistan. He declared, "He's my guy. I'm going to get him." In
doing so, Jared was able to draw fire away from the rest of the American
soldiers and buy time for air support to arrive. After suffering a
direct hit from an RPG, the 30-year-old SFC recited the "Lord's Prayer"
as he lay dying. His last words were, "I've made peace with God. Tell
my family I love them."
"I've come to the conclusion, and
it's the only way I can deal with it, that it was his destiny. This is
what he was meant to do," confesses his mother Janet.
His
father, my childhood friend Paul, has been unable to throw out anything
of his son's. His house is crowded with boxes of Jared's personal
belongings and he continues to drive his Dodge Ram truck. Songwriter
Connie Harrington heard a radio interview with Paul which inspired "I
Drive Your Truck" which became the #1 country song in America and was
named "Song of the Year" at both the 2013 CMA and 2014 ACM Awards shows
and given the first annual Golden Boot Award as 2014 "Song of the Year."
"The actions we honor today were not a passing moment of
courage. They were the culmination of a life of character and
commitment," said Barack Obama as he posthumously presented Jared with
the first Medal of Honor of his presidency on September 17, 2009. Jared
died a heroic death but, more importantly, lived a heroic life. This
is the story of that life.
grenade fire, Jared Monti sacrificed himself attempting not once but
three times to rescue one of his squad members from the "kill zone"
after his patrol came under attack by insurgents on a mountain in
Afghanistan. He declared, "He's my guy. I'm going to get him." In
doing so, Jared was able to draw fire away from the rest of the American
soldiers and buy time for air support to arrive. After suffering a
direct hit from an RPG, the 30-year-old SFC recited the "Lord's Prayer"
as he lay dying. His last words were, "I've made peace with God. Tell
my family I love them."
"I've come to the conclusion, and
it's the only way I can deal with it, that it was his destiny. This is
what he was meant to do," confesses his mother Janet.
His
father, my childhood friend Paul, has been unable to throw out anything
of his son's. His house is crowded with boxes of Jared's personal
belongings and he continues to drive his Dodge Ram truck. Songwriter
Connie Harrington heard a radio interview with Paul which inspired "I
Drive Your Truck" which became the #1 country song in America and was
named "Song of the Year" at both the 2013 CMA and 2014 ACM Awards shows
and given the first annual Golden Boot Award as 2014 "Song of the Year."
"The actions we honor today were not a passing moment of
courage. They were the culmination of a life of character and
commitment," said Barack Obama as he posthumously presented Jared with
the first Medal of Honor of his presidency on September 17, 2009. Jared
died a heroic death but, more importantly, lived a heroic life. This
is the story of that life.
