Former Sgt. Kyle Jerome White was awarded the Medal of Honor by
President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony yesterday, making him
the sixth living Army recipient, and the 14th from all services, to earn
the medal in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Obama opened his remarks in the East Room by paying tribute not just to
White, but to what he referred to as the "9/11 generation," all those
young citizens who came forth after Sept. 11, 2001, to volunteer their
service knowing full well what the cost could be.
"For more than 12 years, with our nation at war, the men and women of
our armed forces have known the measure of danger that comes with
military service," he said. "But year after year, tour after tour, they
have displayed a selfless willingness to incur it -- by stepping
forward, by volunteering, by serving and sacrificing greatly to keep us
all safe.
"Today, our troops are coming home," he added, saying that by year's end
the war in Afghanistan will be over. "And, today, we pay tribute to a
Soldier who embodies the courage of his generation -- a young man who
was a freshman in high school when the Twin Towers fell, and who just
five years later became an elite paratrooper with the legendary 173rd
Airborne -- the Sky Soldiers."
The president recounted the Nov. 9, 2007, ambush outside the village of
Aranas, in which five Soldiers and a Marine would perish, as White's
unit of 13 Americans and a squad of Afghan soldiers descended into what
was called "ambush alley." Suddenly, the chatter of AK-47s and the smoke
trails of rocket-propelled grenades, known as RPGs, lit up the valley,
sending shattered shards and chunks of red-hot metal and rock flying.
With nowhere to escape the three-pronged onslaught but down a steep
decline, White, 1st Lt. Matthew Ferrara, Spc. Kain Schilling, Marine
Sgt. Phillip Bocks and an interpreter were left stranded as the rest of
the unit slid 160 feet down the mountain.
The 20-year-old then-specialist emptied one 30-round clip from his M-4,
but as he went to slide another into place, an RPG screamed in nearby
and, "it was just lights out," as White later described. That wouldn't
be the last time that day he would be rocked by a nearby explosion.
White saw his buddy Schilling trying to stay in the shade of what
Schilling later recalled "as the smallest tree on earth." Schilling had
been wounded severely in his right upper arm, so White sprinted to
Schilling, applied a tourniquet, then saw Bocks.
After four sprints and attempts to pull Bocks to cover, White was
finally successful, and began administering first aid. He applied a
tourniquet, but it was too late. Bocks wounds had been too severe, and
he passed away. When White looked up, he saw Schilling take another
round, this time, to his left leg. Again, he sprinted to Schilling, but
out of tourniquets, he used his belt and was able to once again stop the
bleeding.
While the one-way battle continued, White saw his lieutenant lying face
down. He ran to Ferrara's aid, but he was already dead. As White
recalled in an earlier interview, he had accepted that he and Schilling
weren't going to make it through this firefight.
"It's just a matter of time before I'm dead," White had said. "I figured
if that's going to happen, I might as well help while I can."
White next secured a radio, as both his and Schilling's had been
destroyed by small-arms fire. He relayed a situational report and called
for mortars, artillery, air strikes and helicopter guns runs. Suddenly
and for the second time that day, an explosion that "scrambled my brains
a little bit there," concussed White. A friendly 120-mm mortar round
had fallen a bit short of its intended target.
Though struggling to keep Schilling and himself from falling asleep,
White was eventually able to lay out a landing zone and assist the
flight medic in hoisting all the wounded aboard. Only then did he allow
himself to be medically evacuated.
Today, nearly seven years later, White and each of the surviving
Soldiers of the Battle of Aranas, wears a stainless steel wristband made
by one of the unit's Soldiers. Each is etched with the names of those
who didn't come home: 1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara, Sgt. Jeffery S.
Mersman, Spc. Sean K.A. Langevin, Spc. Lester G. Roque, Pfc. Joseph M.
Lancour and Marine Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks.
"Kyle, members of Chosen Company, you did your duty, and now it's time
for America to do ours," said Obama. "You make us proud, and you
motivate all of us to be the best we can be as Americans, as a nation."
Following the ceremony, White offered his thoughts to the media:
"I wear this medal for my team. I also wear a piece of metal around my
wrist. It was given to me by another survivor of the 9 November ambush;
he wears an identical one," White said. "This has made it even more
precious than the medal of symbol just placed around my neck. On it are
the names of six fallen brothers; they are my heroes."
http://www.army.mil/article/125918/White_becomes_9th_Soldier_to_receive_Medal_of_Honor_since_9_11/
Written by J.D. Leipold
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