In a solemn ceremony conducted in the White House's Palm Room today, President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti. This was Obama's first award of the nation's highest military honor since becoming commander-in-chief, and the sixth Medal of Honor awarded since Sept. 11, 2001.

Obama presented the award posthumously to Monti's parents, Paul and Janet. Monti's brother, sister and niece were also in attendance along with the Pentagon's highest military leaders and prominent lawmakers including Sen. John Kerry (D) and Rep. Barney Frank (D), both from Monti's home state of Massachusetts.

"Does the average American really grasp the meaning [of the Medal of Honor]?" President Obama asked during his remarks. "Do they know what it means to serve? Jared Monti did."

Monti was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Squadron, 71st Calvary, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, out of Fort Drum, N.Y. He was killed June 21, 2006, in a firefight in Gowardesh, Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border.

Monti was part of a 16 man team inserted into the area to recon the approaches for a larger assault. On the evening of June 21, just three days before the larger assault was to take place, the team was ambushed by about 50 insurgents with rocket propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and small arms.

Monti called in artillery fire from an exposed position but realized before the rounds impacted that one of his Soldiers, Pfc. Brian Bradbury, lay wounded in the impact area. He exposed himself to heavy enemy fire three times before finally reaching Bradbury, but he was struck by an enemy RPG and killed.

"On his third attempt, Staff Sgt. Monti took several lunging steps through withering fire towards his wounded Soldier before an RPG exploded in his path," President Obama said. "Monti fell mortally wounded only a few meters from Pfc. Bradbury."

"Monti spoke briefly with the members of the patrol, telling them he had made his peace with God," Obama said. "He then asked [a fellow NCO] to tell his parents that he loved them. Shortly thereafter, he fell silent."

The official citation states that Monti's actions "inspired the patrol to fight off the enemy force." Some time later the enemy withdrew. The Americans had prevailed.

According to the biography posted at the Jared C. Monti Memorial Fund, Sgt 1st Class Monti enlisted in the U.S. Army March 1993, and attended basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Sill, Okla., earning his Military Occupational Specialty of 13F (Forward Observer). His military honors include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, five Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, three Good Conduct Medals and three National Defense Service Medals.

He was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class.

By official definition the Medal of Honor is awarded to servicemembers who "distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in military action against an enemy of the United States." The medal has been presented to 3,447 men and one woman since President Abraham Lincoln signed it into law Dec. 21, 1861.

Monti is the sixth servicemember to receive the Medal of Honor for service since 9/11, and the first Soldier to receive the nation's highest military honor as a result of operations in Afghanistan. The fact that all of these have been presented posthumously has raised concerns from veterans and at least one lawmaker -- Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Ca.).

"We haven't given one to a living person yet, so does that mean not a single living soldier, sailor, airman or Marine has committed an act of valor and something so courageous that he's earned the Medal of Honor?" Hunter was quoted as saying in a recent Stars and Stripes article posted at Military.com..  

Hunter said the Pentagon claims there is less traditional combat these days because warfare has become so high tech, but he doesn't buy it. "I've got guys telling me stories about killing terrorists with their helmets, knifing them, getting in fistfights with them when they're out of ammunition," he said. "That sounds like old-time warfare to me."

Vietnam veteran and Military.com columnist Joseph Kinney agrees. Last year in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Kinney expressed his concerns about how the Pentagon was handling presentations of the Medal of Honor and the fact that none of those given in recent years went to living servicemembers. In an op-ed at Military.com titled "Honoring the Honorable" he wrote that "the Pentagon acts as if it is afraid to honor the most valiant among us."

In a phone interview with Military.com today Kinney also pointed out that the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient -- a Vietnam War veteran -- is now 62 years old, and by recognizing warriors who perform valorously above and beyond the call and survive "we pay tribute to the military services while putting a human face on the war" for the civilian public.

But today's White House event was not about Medal of Honor criteria; it was about Sergeant First Class Jared Monti.

As he highlighted the memorials that now bear Monti's name in Massachusetts and Afghanistan, Obama added, "We know his name and his legacy will live forever."