Medal Of Honor Recipient To Speak To Teachers At Valley Forge

VALLEY FORGE, PA — Medal of Honor recipient Master Sergeant Leroy Petry will speak to teachers at an upcoming event at the Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge.

It is part of a course called The War on Terror, and is part of the Professional Development Summer Program organized by the Foundation. It will be held on Wednesdya, June 16 at 11 a.m. Applications remain open for teachers.

Petry was awarded the country's highest military decoration following an incident in Afghanistan in 2008.

He was serving as an Army Ranger with the 75th Ranger Regiment hunting an al-Quaeda leader when he was shot in both of his legs.

Petry threw a grenade, and then a grenade was thrown at him and his comrades. Petry picked up the grenade that was thrown at him, but it exploded before he could throw it back. The grenade blew off his hand, and he absorbed a significant amount of shrapnel, saving the lives of the other Rangers around him.

After 10 months in the hospital, Perry got a prosthetic hand and re-enlisted in the Army before retiring in 2014.