SSG Ryan Pitts was awarded the Medal of Honor today for his actions July 13, 2008, in Wanat, Afghanistan.  SSG Pitts was a forward observer manning observation post (OP) “Topside” next to Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler near Wanat.  Pitts defended the OP for 90 minutes at times singlehandedly while calling in artillery fire with the enemy so close that he “cooked off” hand grenades to prevent the enemy who were at close quarters from throwing them back.

Pitts was medically retired from the service in 2009 and is the ninth surviving Medal of Honor awardee from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.  In the typical modesty that characterizes most Medal of Honor awardees Pitts feels the medal is a memorial to the nine killed that day.