KIA Bracelet outshines Medal of Honor for Former Army Sergeant Kyle White

“I also wear a piece of metal around my wrist… This is maybe even more precious than the metal symbol just placed around my neck. On it are the names of my six fallen brothers. They are my heroes.”

- Former Army Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient Kyle White


From Stars & Stripes.

The stainless steel bracelet on former Army Sgt. Kyle White’s right wrist far outshone the Medal of Honor that President Barack Obama placed around his neck at a White House ceremony on Tuesday.

White received the nation’s highest award for military valor in recognition of his actions during a patrol in the steep, rugged mountains near Aranas in eastern Afghanistan. He was serving as a radiotelephone operator with C Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade when his team of U.S. and Afghan National Army troops were ambushed on Nov. 9, 2007 by a larger and more heavily armed Taliban force after a meeting with Afghan villagers.
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“If you look closely at [White] on his way to work, you'll notice a piece of the war that he carries with him, tucked under his shirt sleeve: a stainless steel bracelet around his wrist, etched with the names of his six fallen comrades, who will always be with him,” Obama said.

The six — 1st Lt. Matthew Ferrara; Sgt. Jeffery Mersman; Spc. Sean Langevin; Spc. Lester Roque; Pfc. Joseph Lancour; and Marine Sgt. Phillip Bocks — were White’s battle buddies who died in the ambush.

Much more at the link.

If you missed the ceremony live, you may view it here.

And from Army.mil, a complete description of the battlescape, including recordings of Sgt. White's own words here.