SSGT Petry Visits Military Patients at Smokey Point Extra Mile Military Program
On January 29, 2019, Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry paid a surprise visit to patients in the Extra Mile Military Care Program at Smokey Point. He met with mental health patients as a group and inspired many of them with his words of encouragement. If anyone can relate to the challenges associated with combat stress and transition from military life, it is SSgt Petry. For several patients, his visit felt like a turning point in their inpatient treatment process. “Hearing that he understands how I am feeling is something that I will never forget,” said one Veteran. It is moments such as this, and the camaraderie associated with military service that is what makes the EMMC program so impactful in the lives of our active duty service members, Veterans, and dependents.
MSG Petry has endorsed the Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital’s new Extra Mile Military Care™ program. “If having my name associated with the Extra Mile program encourages someone to seek the help they need, I’m all for it,” says MSG Petry.
On May 26, 2008, while serving with the elite 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, headquartered at Fort Lewis, Washington, then Staff Sergeant Petry was participating in an audacious daylight raid against a well defended Taliban encampment in Paktya, Afghanistan. The enemy, well dug in and exceptionally determined to withstand the Rangers’ assault, engaged Staff Sergeant Petry and his team of Rangers within hand to hand combat range. Petry, the senior non-commissioned officer during the clearing of the enemy compound, was wounded in both legs during the assault. Almost immediately afterward an enemy grenade landed among Petry and two other Rangers. Without hesitation, Petry grabbed the grenade, throwing it away from his fellow Rangers. Per the official Medal of Honor narrative “Staff Sergeant Petry threw it away from his fellow Rangers resulting in a catastrophic amputation of his right hand and multiple shrapnel wounds penetrating his body.” After the explosion Petry applied his own tourniquet, reported he had been wounded again but was still in contact with the enemy.
Master Sergeant (MSG) Petry became the first Army Ranger to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. He would recover from his wounds and go on to work closely as a wounded warrior advocate with the Special Operations Command’s Care Coalition. Master Sergeant Petry, a longtime Washington resident, will speak about reducing the stigma of combat related PTSD in our Active Duty, Guard, Reserve and Veteran populations and the importance of self-care and seeking help for the invisible wounds of war.
