Kyle J. White | |
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 SGT Kyle J. White in March 2014 | |
| Born | March 27, 1987 Seattle, Washington |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | United States Army |
| Years of service | 2006–2011 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
Kyle Jerome White (born March 27, 1987) is an American financial analyst and former United States Army soldier. He is the seventh living recipient of the Medal of Honor from the War in Afghanistan.[1]
YouTube Encyclopedic
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Inside UNC Charlotte - Medal of Honor Recipient Kyle White
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President Obama awards Medal of Honor to former Army Sergeant Kyle White the
Transcription
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And today, we pay tribute to a soldier who embodies the courage of his generation. A young man who was a freshman in high school when the Twin Towers fell, and who just five years later became an elite paratrooper with the legendary 173rd Airborne, the Sky Soldiers. STEPHEN WARD VO: On a November day in 2007, about a year and a half after he enlisted, then-specialist Kyle White and his unit were ambushed. Pinned against an Afghanistan mountainside, fully exposed to enemy gunfire and rocket propelled grenades. Despite being briefly knocked unconscious and then later wounded by shrapnel, White repeatedly drew the enemy's fire as he aided a dying comrade and moved another slowly to safety. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Today, we present our nation's highest military decoration -- the Medal of Honor -- to Sergeant Kyle J. White. KYLE WHITE: You know as the ceremony progressed you hear the reading the narrative of the citation all you think about are the guys we lost that day especially as soon as he draped the medal around my neck that I was facing directly towards one of the brothers of Captain Ferrara who was killed that day and so he was directly in my line of sight. I was just thinking about the cost of being there that day, everything that has happened before and up to that point to standing there on that stage it was just a lot to deal with. (President Obama draping the medal around the neck of Kyle White) STEPHEN WARD VO: A detailed account of the battle is on the official Army Web site that signifies what will now be Kyle White's lifelong service in the role of American hero . . . KYLE WHITE: To me you know the heroes are the guys that lost their lives that day. You know I wear them on this bracelet, KIA bracelet and those are the real heroes because they gave everything in defense of our country. To me there is no other choice but to be humble about it because I was doing nothing different than any of those other guys would have done if the roles were reversed. When you are deployed you never know what the day is going to bring you need to be prepared for anything and the only reason I did what I did that day and you know did things as well as I did was because we as a unit were the best trained that we could be. Through our entire train up process before we deployed they just pounded into us that we are going to a bad area this was going to be a bad deployment and we need to train accordingly and that is what they did. So I think nobody ever wants to be in the situation like November 9, 2007 but when you are put into that no matter who is on that trail that day you fall back onto your training, that muscle memory that stuff you know that has been beaten into your head over the years. It just all kind of comes together. STEPHEN WARD VO: He became the seventh living recipient of the Medal of Honor from the War in Afghanistan. A Medal this now former soldier will still wear at special occasions, a medal the sight of which will draw a salute from even the highest ranking general. Kyle White is a Seattle native who came to Charlotte in 2011, after his service. He earned his degree in finance at UNC Charlotte. A fitting connection given that this university got its start in 1946 to serve returning World War II veterans earning their educations under the GI Bill. Now he's an investment analyst. Kyle White says his sight today is set on being an advocate for returning vets, to help them take full advantage of the modern GI Bill, the one that helped him get to where he is today . . . Kyle White: You know I researched the business program and I knew I wanted a degree in business and it had good reviews especially for the area and it was kind of close to where I was going to be living anyway. This aided my decision to attend here. I love Charlotte and you know it is definitely home now. The conflict in Afghanistan is coming to an end in the next year or so, so there's going to be a lot of transition with people who are separating from the service, all the services and so what I am taking as my personal mission is educating these service members on the importance of an education. You know the importance of using the benefits that they have earned I think it starts with getting through to that individual service member about what life really is like out in the job market and really the importance of an education and kind of educating them "hey you have these benefits" but don't just use them to get any degree use them to get a degree that is going to be useful that is going to be working towards a career for yourself. What I have done sense day one is one day at a time you know kind of one mission at a time kind of how you do it when you are in the service. One mission at a time and keep moving forward and whatever happens that the collective end goal is, I just hope it's something that helped a few guys out.
Early life
White was born on March 27, 1987,[2] and lived in Bonney Lake, Washington.[3] He enlisted in the United States Army on February 15, 2006, attending basic training, advanced individual training, as well the United States Army Airborne School consecutively, at Fort Benning.[2] White's military education includes the Combat Life Saver Course, United States Army Air Assault School, Infantryman Course (One-Station Unit Training), Primary Leadership Development Course and Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course.[2]
Military service
White was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment from 2006 to 2008. In early 2007, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, he was deployed to Aranas, Afghanistan where he served as a platoon radio telephone operator.[2] White's actions on November 9, 2007, were the basis for his receiving the Medal of Honor.[2]
From 2008 to 2010, White was assigned to the 4th Ranger Training Battalion at Fort Benning. In May 2011 he departed the active-duty United States Army.[2]
Medal of Honor
Prior to the event that lead to the awarding of the Medal of Honor, White noticed that during a Shura "it seemed like every male fighting-age and above was there in attendance." Half an hour later he and his unit were under attack.[4] During the Battle of Aranas on November 9, 2007, White suffered a mild traumatic brain injury from a rocket-propelled grenade blast and from the subsequent blast of a 120 mm mortar round fired by United States forces.[1] Although injured himself, White provided assistance to the soldiers and Marines around him while under heavy fire.[5] He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, but says he copes with its symptoms by exercising.[1] Through 2014, White's face still had bullet fragments from an AK-47 round that shattered on a rock in front of him.[1]
After the battle, paperwork regarding a potential Medal of Honor awarding was delayed in the Pentagon.[7] On May 14, 2014, White received the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony, for administering life-saving medical aid to comrades and for radioing situational reports;[6] that battle resulted in five soldiers (1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara, Sgt. Jeffery S. Mersman, Spc. Sean K. A. Langevin, Spc. Lester G. Roque, and Pfc. Joseph M. Lancour) and Marine Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks being killed and all eight surviving Americans being wounded.[1] White became the seventh living recipient of the Medal of Honor from either the Iraq War or Afghanistan operations.[8] The following day, White was inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes by Deputy Defense Secretary Robert O. Work.[9]
Citation
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Specialist Kyle J. White, United States Army.
Specialist Kyle J. White distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a radio telephone operator with Company C, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment, 173d Airborne Brigade, during combat operations against an armed enemy in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on 9 November 2007. On that day, Specialist White and his comrades were returning to Bella Outpost from a shura with Aranas Village elders. As the soldiers traversed a narrow path surrounded by mountainous, rocky terrain, they were ambushed by enemy forces from elevated positions. Pinned against a steep mountain face, Specialist White and his fellow soldiers were completely exposed to enemy fire. Specialist White returned fire and was briefly knocked unconscious when a rocket-propelled grenade impacted near him. When he regained consciousness, another round impacted near him, embedding small pieces of shrapnel in his face. Shaking off his wounds, Specialist White noticed one of his comrades lying wounded nearby. Without hesitation, Specialist White exposed himself to enemy fire in order to reach the soldier and provide medical aid. After applying a tourniquet, Specialist White moved to an injured Marine, similarly providing aid and comfort until the Marine succumbed to his wounds. Specialist White then returned to the soldier and discovered that he had been wounded again. Applying his own belt as an additional tourniquet, Specialist White was able to stem the flow of blood and save the soldier's life. Noticing that his and the other soldier's radios were inoperative, Specialist White exposed himself to enemy fire yet again in order to secure a radio from a deceased comrade. He then provided information and updates to friendly forces, allowing precision airstrikes to stifle the enemy's attack and ultimately permitting medical evacuation aircraft to rescue him, his fellow soldiers, Marines and Afghan Army soldiers. Specialist Kyle J. White's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Company C, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment, 173d Airborne Brigade and the United States Army.[10]
Post-military career
In 2013, White received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he majored in finance.[2] He became an investment analyst with the Royal Bank of Canada. In 2013, he joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch as a fixed income bond trader.[2]
Awards and decorations
White has earned the following awards and decorations:[2]
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White has earned two Overseas Service Bars and one service stripe.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Zoroya, Gregg (April 15, 2014). "Medal of Honor recipient risked all for comrades". USA Today. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Profile: Sergeant Kyle Jerome White". U.S. Army. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- ^ Former Bonney Lake man to be receive Medal of Honor | The Seattle Times Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ Delmore, Eric (August 14, 2014). "Medal of Honor winner Kyle White: "The memories are still vivid"". MSNBC. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ Stan Toler (April 3, 2018). The Power of Your Influence: 11 Ways to Make a Difference in Your World. Harvest House Publishers. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-7369-7305-2.
- ^ a b Leipold, J. D. (May 14, 2014). "President Presents Medal of Honor to Former Army Sergeant". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014.
- ^ Mike Henry (June 7, 2016). What They Didn't Teach You in American History Class: The Second Encounter. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-4758-1548-1.
- ^ Harper, John (May 13, 2014). "Bracelet outshines Medal of Honor at ceremony for Kyle White". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ Marshall Jr., Tyrone C. "Article: Work Inducts Former Army Sergeant Into Pentagon's Hall of Heroes". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014.
- ^ "Transcript: Obama's remarks on Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Kyle White". CNN. May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
This page was last edited on 2 June 2024, at 04:34