SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 – In June 2006, high above a valley in Afghanistan, 16 soldiers on patrol valiantly tried to stave off a huge swarm of insurgents. It was on that ridge that Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared Christopher Monti gave his life while attempting to protect one of his comrades. That moment of courage and selflessness led him to receive a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Monti was born Sept. 20, 1975, in Abington, Massachusetts, to Paul and Janet Monti. He had a sister, Nicole, and a brother, Timothy.
When the family moved to nearby Raynham, Monti began to develop a sense of adventure and a love of sports, of which he played several. At Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, he participated in triathlons and wrestled, even earning the under-17 New England weightlifting championship. He also volunteered with an after-school program for children at a local YMCA where his mother taught preschool.
Monti was determined to join the Army, so in March 1993, he enlisted in the service’s delayed entry program. He went to basic training between his junior and senior years of high school. After graduating in 1994, he went on active duty and became a fire support specialist, supporting intelligence and targeting in field artillery units.
Over the next several years, Monti served twice in South Korea and trained as a paratrooper. In 1999, he went on a two-year deployment to Kosovo. During that time, he was injured in a parachute jump, but he refused to take a medical discharge and instead reenlisted.
Monti was eventually assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. In 2003, he deployed to Afghanistan with the division’s 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. Before returning home, he received an Army Commendation Medal and a Bronze Star for his actions during an insurgent ambush.
In February 2006, Monti returned to Afghanistan for a second deployment, this time with the division’s 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
On June 21, 2006, Monti was serving as a team leader in the area of Gowardesh in northeastern Afghanistan, along the Pakistani border. Monti led a 16-man patrol with the goal of setting up a small base on a ridge to gather intelligence and direct fire against the enemy in support of a larger Army operation in the valley below.
Unfortunately, the larger operation was delayed, which caused Monti’s team to run low on provisions and require aerial restocking. The helicopter that brought them supplies also revealed their position to insurgents. Soon after, their patrol was attacked by as many as 50 enemy fighters, who set up two positions about 50 yards above Monti’s team on the ridge.
It was clear to Monti that his team would soon be overrun, so he quickly directed his men to fire back from behind a rock formation that could shield them. He then called for indirect fire support on top of the enemy, which was closing in fast. He also fought off insurgents using his rifle and a grenade, successfully disrupting an attempt to flank his patrol.
But then Monti saw Army Spc. Brian Bradbury lying severely wounded out in the open, and he knew he had to get to him. Another soldier said he would try to rescue Bradbury, but Monti ordered the soldier back, saying, “That’s my guy. I’m going to get him.”
Twice, Monti disregarded his own safety to try and reach Bradbury. Both times, he was forced back by relentless enemy fire.
On his third attempt, Monti was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. He tried to crawl back to cover but didn’t quite make it. However, he was in earshot of his comrades, who said he told them that he’d made his peace with God, and to tell his family he loved them.
A few minutes after Monti died, the air support he called in finally arrived, killing several insurgents and dispersing the rest, which saved the remaining members of his patrol.
Unfortunately, Bradbury didn’t survive. He died when a medevac’s hoist broke as it tried to lift him into a helicopter. Two other patrol members, Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Lybert and Army Staff Sgt. Heathe Craig, also died during the 18-hour battle.
Monti’s body was eventually repatriated and buried in Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts.
On Sept. 17, 2009, Monti’s parents received the Medal of Honor on his behalf from President Barack Obama during a White House ceremony. He was the second service member to receive it for actions taken in Afghanistan.
Monti has been remembered as a humble and giving man. His name adorns many landmarks and buildings, including in the military community. In 2009, a combat outpost in Afghanistan was renamed COP Monti. That same year, a bridge near his hometown was renamed the Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti Bridge. In the years that followed, a fitness center at Fort Drum and a training facility at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, were also named in his honor.
In 2014, country musician Lee Brice put out a song titled “I Drive Your Truck” that was inspired by a radio feature in which Monti’s father reminisced about his son and the truck he drove in remembrance of him. The song was named song of the year during the 49th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
This past April, the new Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti Soldier and Squad Research Facility at the Army Natick Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts, was dedicated to him. Monti’s sister, who spoke at the ceremony, said the family wasn’t sure what to do with all his medals, uniforms and other military memorabilia until this opportunity arose.
“We wanted them to go where we knew they’d be honored,” Nicole Monti-Alicea told the crowd during the dedication. “After our meeting, we knew that Jared’s highest honors belonged here … and my mother finally got the one thing she always wanted — for her son to finally rest in peace.”
During the ceremony, Brice performed an acoustic version of his award-winning song for the crowd, using Monti’s actual pickup truck as a backdrop for the touching tribute.
By Katie Lange
Pentagon News