FORT SMITH - An Army Ranger and recipient of the Medal of Honor told Darby Junior High School students Friday that if they really want something, they can accomplish it.
Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry addressed students and area officials Friday during the annual Darby Day observance at the school named for Fort Smith native and Rangers founding commander Brig. Gen. William O. Darby, who was killed in action near the end of World War II. Darby was born 103 years ago Saturday.
“No matter how bad things seem as they are, you can always pull yourself up and do better,” he said during hour-long remarks in the school auditorium.
Still on active duty in the Army, Petry spends his time traveling the country for speaking engagements and working with wounded soldiers. He said he plans to leave the military next year when his enlistment term ends.
Petry said he was a poor student growing up in Santa Fe, N.M. He didn’t focus on his studies and ran with the wrong crowd. He would hurry home from school to intercept his report card, filled with F’s and D’s, from the mail and alter it before his parents could see it, he said.
He said he had wanted to be a soldier since he was 7, but it occurred to him that the Army wouldn’t want him with such poor grades. That encouraged him to change his ways. He switched schools, associated with better students and applied himself to his studies.
During his senior year in high school, he said he was given the bootstrap award, which recognized the student who improved the most.
Petry told the audience that he was giving Darby Junior High School Principal Darren McKinney a Rangers tag from one of his uniforms to award at the end of the school year to the best student. He also said he was giving McKinney one of his Ranger military coins to present to the student who shows the most improvement.
“It’s going to bring new meaning to our students knowing a Ranger looks at Darby Junior High School and says you are important and you need to be recognized with a Ranger tag and a Ranger coin,” McKinney said.
A military coin is a medallion soldiers carry to prove membership in a unit and to enhance morale.
Darby Watkins of Mobile, Ala., the son of Darby’s sister Doris, attended Friday’s observance. He said he was impressed with Petry’s humility and the honor he had earned. He saw Petry’s visit as a continuation of Darby’s legacy and connection to Fort Smith.
“This is one of the highlights of my life being here and experiencing this,” he said.
Other local dignitaries were on hand, including state Sen. Bruce Holland, R-Greenwood, and state Rep. George McGill, D-Fort Smith, who presented Petry with an Arkansas Traveler certificate. Also present were Sebastian County Circuit Judge Jim Spears, Fort Smith school Superintendent Benny Gooden and county and city officials.
Petry lost his right hand on May 26, 2008, while on a mission in Afghanistan to find a top al-Qaida commander.A hand grenade exploded as he was trying to toss it away from two of the men under his command. His actions saved the soldiers’ lives.
Despite the loss of his hand and bullet wounds through both thighs that bled heavily, he continued to participate, using his rifle and grenades, in fighting off the men who were attacking his squad.
A website about Petry contained remarks by President Barack Obama as he awarded the Medal of Honor to Petry at the White House on July 12, 2011.
“This is the stuff of which heroes are made. This is the strength, the devotion that makes our troops the pride of every American. And this is the reason that - like a soldier named Leroy Petry - America doesn’t simply endure, we emerge from our trials stronger, more confident, with our eyes fixed on the future.”
Petry said the medal was a heavy weight to bear, but it becomes lighter when he shares it with others.
“This medal does not belong to me,” he said. “It belongs to every person who served in the military and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Arkansas, Pages 21 on 02/09/2014