Army Ranger MOH Petry to retire

MoH recipient Petry ponders future after retirement
Army Times
By Michelle Tan
Staff writer
Feb. 6, 2014

Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry poses with New York Police Department officials.
(Sgt. 1st Class Michael R. Noggle/Army)

In the almost three years since he was awarded the Medal of Honor, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry has met three presidents, shared a photo with basketball star LeBron James and rapper Jay-Z, and hitched a ride with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

But as he prepares to leave the Army, Petry said he’s still the same Ranger and man he always was.

Earning the nation’s highest award for valor “changed a lot of my activities, but I think, as a person, it hasn’t changed me at all,” Petry said.

“I don’t have to wear that [medal] around my neck 24/7,” he said. “I get to hold on to it, but it doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to every man and woman who has served in the U.S. military, especially those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Petry, who is still assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment and works with wounded soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., is undergoing a medical evaluation and hopes to be medically retired this summer.
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