NH Veteran Ryan Pitts To Receive Medal Of Honor At White House
BOSTON (CBS) - Former active duty Sgt. Ryan Pitts lives what most people would consider to be a normal life with a wife and child in Nashua, New Hampshire.
That may have been hard for him to imagine six years ago in the Battle of Wanat, one of the bloodiest in the war in Afghanistan.
Nine Americans died and 27 were wounded, including Pitts who was hit by grenade shrapnel in both legs and in one arm.
But he continued to fight, helping to save lives and hold ground.
It was a day he never could have imagined when he enlisted.
"I was naïve, joined at 17. I never thought I would be in that position. But it was great to serve with the men that I did and I would never change anything about my service. I would do it all over again," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
Nearly all of the survivors and relatives of the fallen will be with Pitts Monday when he receives the Medal of Honor for heroism in Afghanistan at the White House.
Read: White House Announcement
Pitts said they will all share the honor.
"I've told them that this award belongs to their loved ones just as much as it belongs to me. They helped the rest of us come home."
He will be ninth living recipient of the medal.
"I've never felt that I deserved it. For me, I've looked at it as an individual award that represents our collective effort that day. It represents the sacrifices we all made, and all service members. And it's a memorial to the guys that didn't come home."
Listen Below: An excerpt from Joe Mathieu's interview with Ryan Pitts
WBZ NewsRadio 1030 will air a half-hour Special Report Monday at 7 p.m. on Ryan Pitts. You can hear more of Joe's interview then.
MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON