Nashua Medal of Honor Winner Ryan Pitts to Deliver UNH Commencement Address

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Nashua’s Ryan Pitts, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroics during a 2008 battle in Afghanistan, will deliver the commencement address at the University of New Hampshire in May.

Pitts, a staff sergeant, was gravely injured by shrapnel when 200 militants launched a rocket attack on his base during the Battle of Wanat on July 13, 2008. Despite nearly bleeding to death, he didn’t retreat—firing at enemy soldiers and lobbing grenades until reinforcements arrived, according to his medal commendation. Nine American soldiers died in the attack. Pitts was the lone survivor.

“I think about what we did together,” Pitts recently said about his fallen comrades. “I think about the guys we lost, what they meant to me. I have a wife now and a son, and a daughter on the way, and it’s because of the sacrifice they made.”

UNH’s commencement is May 16.

After he was discharged, Pitts graduated from UNH’s business program in Manchester. He now works for a software company.

Pitts is the ninth living soldier who servered in Afghanistan or Iraq to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

This is a video the Army produced about the Battle of Wanat:

Photo credit: army.mil