JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. (AP) — Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry (PEET’-ree) has returned home to Washington state, a week after President Barack Obama presented him with the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor.
Petry told reporters at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle on Tuesday that he and his family received a warm welcome in their neighborhood in Steilacoom when they arrived Monday night. Children made banners and cheered for them.
The native of Santa Fe, N.M., lost his hand in eastern Afghanistan in May 2008 when he grabbed an enemy grenade and tried to throw it away from himself and two comrades. The grenade went off but he saved their lives.
Petry says he’s eager to get back to his day job working with injured Special Forces members and their families.
