Leroy Petry: Medal of Honor recipient This is the rest of the story. Unbeknownst to me. When Dana Bowman said I could meet his parachute team in Cincinnati, Ohio I had no idea that about 20,000 other people would be at this event as well. The Middletown, Ohio festival had several events to benefit our wounded warriors. Many of the wounded warriors are friends of Danas and my brother and I had the humbling honor of meeting many of these men and women. Leroy was staying in the same hotel. Another wounded warrior who had lost his left leg mentioned that Leroy just happened to be a Medal of Honor recipient. So I figured - how often do you get to meet a Medal of Honor recipient, so I walked up and asked if I could introduce myself and find out more about his story. As you can see from the photo, Leroy has no right hand. In a daylight mission as a part of a Special Forces team under fire and having already been hit by a bullet that went threw both of his legs. An enemy grenade landed a few feet from Leroy and his team. Leroy picked up the grenade knowing it could cost him his life and threw it. Just as he released it - the grenade exploded and his right hand was instantly amputated. Leroy assessed his situation. Placed a tourniquet on his right arm and communicated the situation via radio. His men asked him to seek help for himself and he said not until our mission is complete. Now, I may not have all of the facts exactly right. But, I do know as I met this man and listened to his story... tears filled my eyes. Tears are filling my eyes as I write this post. Leroy Petry is an American Hero. And, last night and all day today I was surrounded by heroes. I want to say a special thank you to Leroy, to Dana Bowman, to all of the Wounded Warriors and to all of our military men and women. ______________________________ PS Yesterday Leroy made a solo skydive. The first since his accident. PSS. Leroy was right handed. His son was just going to school and learning how to write when Leroy was injured. Leroy learned how to write with his left hand by practicing with his son. ______________________________ My life is forever changed.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 02:29:57 +0000
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