Medal of Honor going to late Drum sergeant

WASHINGTON — The first time Sgt. Clifford P. Baird met Sgt. Jared C. Monti, in 2005, he could tell his fellow member of the 10th Mountain Division was different from the average soldier.

Sgt. Monti's unit's office at Fort Drum was next to Sgt. Baird's, and they crossed paths often.

"He was very outgoing," Sgt. Baird said of his comrade, who is to be honored by President Obama at the White House on Thursday with a posthumous Medal of Honor. Sgt. Monti was killed in action in Afghanistan three years ago while trying to save a fallen member of his unit, during a fierce firefight with insurgents. The Army is producing a documentary about his life.

"If you had a question, he wouldn't blow you off," Sgt. Baird said. At times, in fact, he said, Sgt. Monti was more like a teacher, taking less experienced soldiers and sharing his perspectives on the often life-threatening job soldiers are required to do. Chance meetings with fellow soldiers sometimes turned into an almost classroom-like setting, he said.

"That was just him. He always put his soldiers first," Sgt. Baird said. "He basically made sure we knew our job."

With qualities like that, family and friends have said, it makes sense that Sgt. Monti would place himself in harm's way to save a fellow soldier — and that he would not have been looking for any medals in doing so.

In fact, his father, Paul, said recently, Sgt. Monti disliked the idea that a soldier's job is often to kill people and was dismissive of the several awards for valor he already had received in his Army career.

Members of Sgt. Monti's family will be in Washington for much of this week, preparing for Thursday's ceremony. They were allowed to invite up to 100 guests.

Sgt. Monti was a noncommissioned officer in the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. Sgt. Baird's unit provided Sgt. Monti's with indirect fire support, keeping the enemy at bay as Sgt. Monti's unit would advance.

Sgt. Monti's crew consisted of snipers and reconnaissance men, and they ran into enemy fire June 21 in the Gremen Valley as they surveyed the area in advance of a bigger push by the 3rd Brigade Combat Team. It was U.S. soldiers' first foray into that area, and they were detected by the enemy despite moving mainly at night and taking other measures to lie low.

On that day, they encountered artillery and gunfire from Taliban insurgents, a stronger response than they expected. One of Sgt. Monti's men, Pfc. Brian J. Bradbury, was injured in a field, and Sgt. Monti ventured out to rescue him under enemy fire as his own unit provided him with cover.

Sgt. Monti, who was from Raynham, Mass., is the second service member to receive the Medal of Honor, both posthumously, for service in Afghanistan. No living service member has been so honored in either the Afghanistan or Iraq wars. Four such medals have been issued to soldiers killed in Iraq.

A memorial scholarship has been established in his name. Information is available on the Internet.

ON THE NET

Jared Monti Scholarship: www.sfcjaredcmonti.org