Medal of Honor Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry works with wounded

Medal of Honor recipient Petry visits Citadel
Associated Press
Bruce Smith
October 22, 2013

Medal of Honor recipient Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry answers a question
during an Associated Press interview at The Citadel in
Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 22. (Bruce Smith / AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A Medal of Honor recipient who was given the nation’s highest military award for protecting comrades during a fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2008, said Tuesday that leadership requires working together, resiliency and responsibility.

“Being a leader entails teamwork and all that goes along with teamwork. And it means resiliency and being prepared for anything you may have to face,” Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry told The Associated Press in an interview during a visit to The Citadel.

Petry came to the state military college to discuss leadership with cadets. On Wednesday he will participate in the college’s third annual Leadership Day and will visit patients at the Charleston VA Hospital along with cadets.

Petry, 34 and from New Mexico, lost his right hand in the action for which he was awarded the medal. He now works out of Joint Base Lewis McChord, Wash., with wounded warriors and ill and injured members of their families.

In May of 2008, fighting members of the Taliban in a house courtyard, Petry picked up a live grenade that had fallen near other Army Rangers in his unit. As he picked it up to throw it back, it exploded in his hand.
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