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Fallen soldier to receive Medal of Honor

Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti, who was killed in Afghanistan June 21, 2006, will receive the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat, his father, Paul Monti, told Army Times in a telephone interview Thursday.

President Obama called Paul Monti, a retired school teacher, Tuesday evening at his home in Raynham, Mass., Monti said.

“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,” Monti said. “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 in Afghanistan.

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 receive the award for actions in Afghanistan.

His father said he will receive the award on behalf of his son at a ceremony will scheduled for a date in September.

The announcement of the award and the call from the president, he 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 school teacher like his dad.

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,’ ” Monti recalled.

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