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White House confirms Medal of Honor

Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti, a fire support specialist who was killed June 21, 2006, in Afghanistan, will receive the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat.

The announcement was made by the White House in a news release Friday morning. The award will be presented to Monti’s parents in a Sept. 17 ceremony at the White House.

The soldier’s father, Paul Monti, told Army Times on Thursday that President Obama had called him Tuesday evening at his home in Raynham, Mass.

“The talk was very short and to the point. He said ‘Hello, how are you?’ and I said ‘Fine, Mr. President,’ and then he told me the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Defense have approved Jared for the Medal of Honor,” said Paul Monti, a retired teacher. “He said he was proud of Jared.”

Sgt. 1st Class Monti, 30, was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, when he was killed.

He will become the sixth service member to receive the Medal of Honor during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the first soldier to receive the nation’s highest award for valor in Afghanistan. Navy Lt. Michael Murphy is the only other service member to have received the award for actions in Afghanistan.

All of the awards have been given posthumously.

The announcement of the award and the call from the president, Paul Monti said, is “bittersweet” after the loss of his son.

“I’m reliving all of this all over again. I’d much rather have him than any medal,” Monti said.

Sgt. 1st Class Monti was single and had aspired to be a teacher, like his father.

He told his father he didn’t want to marry until his commitment to the Army was complete.

“He told me ‘I’m not getting married while I’m in the military, I don’t want to leave a widow behind; I’ve seen too many of my soldiers go through that too many times,’ ” Paul Monti said.

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