On the recordJuly 12, 2011
I rise today as our Nation honors the bravery and sacrifice of Santa Fe native Leroy Arthur Petry, an Army Ranger who, in 2008, risked his life to save his fellow soldiers on the battlefields of Afghanistan. Today Sergeant First Class Petry will be honored for his ``conspicuous gallantry'' with our Nation's highest military decoration: the Medal of Honor. I will be humbled to be at the White House along with Sergeant First Class Petry's family, friends, and fellow soldiers as President Obama honors him with the Congressional Medal of Honor. It will be a special day for Sergeant First Class Petry, for his wife and his children, and all his family, and for his fellow Americans, as he becomes only the second living active-duty servicemember to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Petry's story is one of courage and sacrifice and immense love of country. It is a story that began years ago in Santa Fe with a young man who struggled in high school but refused to give up and, instead, buckled down, dug deep, and found the hero within--a hero to the men he saved on that fateful day in Afghanistan, and a hero to all Americans who owe their freedoms to our brave men and women in uniform. It is the story of that day in May of 2008 that I wish to tell you today. Sergeant First Class Petry was a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment when he and his fellow rangers were deployed to capture a high-value target in Afghanistan.…
