American Valor Quarterly Issue 9 - Summer 2012 | Page 6

Adding to the richness of the experience for those in attendance was
the inclusion of military heroes of our most recent generation of
service members. The many ROTC and service academy students
are provided the opportunity to see the direct lineage of American
heroes, from World War II all the way to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Pictured right, JROTC students meet with Sergeant First Class Leroy
Petry, one of only three currently surviving recipients of the Medal
of Honor for valor in Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Petry was
awarded the Medal following actions during a raid to capture a highvalue target in Afghanistan on May 26, 2008. When he and his fellow
Rangers came under heavy attack, Petry unhesitatingly picked up and
threw an enemy grenade tht had landed near the feet of two Rangers
nearby. The grenade exploded as he released it, severing his hand and
blasting him with shrapnel. His actions likely saved the lives of his
fellow Rangers. Despite his injuries, Petry has remained on active duty, returning to Afghanistan and working to assist wounded
Rangers.

As is tradition, the 14th Annual Conference ended with the American Veterans Center’s Awards Gala, honoring the service and sacrifice of American veterans from World War II to today. Perhaps
the most moving moments of the weekend come as generations
of American heroes come together to pay tribute to the others.
Pictured left, the surviving Doolittle Raiders present the inaugural
“Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Wings of Valor Award” to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers (who
also serves as the American Veterans Center’s Honorary Chairman). The Raiders requested that the Center help to inaugurate this
honor so that their legacy would continue after they are gone. The
award is intended to spotlight contributions to the United States
Air Force in the tradition of those demonstrated by the Raiders
and their comrades from the Second World War.
Continuing the theme of bringing generations together, pictured at right
is Sergeant First Class Petry along with his wife, Ashley, and Mrs. Faye
Hooper (seated). Mr.s. Hooper was on hand to help present the Joe
Ronnie Hooper Award for service in Vietnam, named in honor of her
late husband, who was the most highly decorated American of the war..
Over the next several pages are posted the stories and citations for each
of the honorees from the awards gala.
The American Veterans Center’s conference reaches far beyond the several hundred students who are able to attend. All of the conference panels are professionally recorded and posted online, with many of them
having been televised on C-SPAN and The Pentagon Channel. The conference also allows the Center to conduct private interviews for documentary programs and its weekly radio series, Veterans Chronicles, which
are also preserved for posterity at the Library of Congress.
The Center is grateful for the support from our friends at the United
States Navy Memorial and The Heritage Foundation for hosting the annual confernece, as well as each and every supporter who makes this
“weekend in the company of heroes” possible for tomorrow’s leaders.

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