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Medal of Honor Ceremony; Malaysia Crash Investigation Continues

Aired July 21, 2014 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My memories of him are very fond.

He provided some -- a great role -- role model for me. And -- and so I think you're exactly right to sort of have his -- everything he offered to -- to Australia and his community and family, just to be cut away like that is -- makes it all the more a tragedy, not forgetting the three beautiful children that have unfortunately been...

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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And we move on, top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And just a heads-up for you. We are minutes away from an incredibly special ceremony at the White House here, live pictures inside the White House on the left side of your screen as we are about to hear the story of a pretty amazing young man. A former Army sergeant, staff sergeant will receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during a battle in Afghanistan in July of 2008.

He Sergeant Ryan Pitts. He launched grenade after grenade, fired a machine gun at insurgents while he was bleeding profusely. He defended his post while nine other soldiers were killed and 27 were injured. Pitts will be the ninth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And as soon as we see him and the president of the United States step behind that podium, we will bring you that special ceremony live.

But let's turn to the downing of MH17 in Eastern Ukraine. Couple of major developments to share with you this hour. First, let's talk about the black boxes. So the black box, these data flight data recorders from the passenger jet, you can see what appears to be one here, that orange piece of machinery being removed from the scene.

We now know they will be handed over to Malaysia any minute now. But after five days in the hands of the rebels, the question now is, has the black box evidence been compromised?

President Obama speaking a short time ago about Russia's involvement at the crash site.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unfortunately, the Russian-backed separatists who control the area continue to block the investigation.

They have repeatedly prevented international investigators from gaining full access to the wreckage. As investigators approached, they fired their weapons into the air. The separatists are removing evidence from the crash site, all of which begs the question, what exactly are they trying to hide?

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BALDWIN: Right now, it is just past 10:00 at night at the crash site here where this passenger plane was shot down. And right now, a train carrying these different car after car of this train filled with bodies, it's been released by the pro-Russian rebels and it's now making its way to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Disturbingly, this eerie makeshift mobile morgue, if you will, had been held captive by these rebels. Ukraine's president talking about this with CNN exclusively just a short time ago.

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PETRO POROSHENKO, Ukrainian President: We are still missing 16 bodies of the innocent victims of the terroristic attack which happened 96 hours ago in Ukrainian sky.

But the rest from the 298 victims is already in a refrigerator train which was supplied by Ukrainian government,but still blocked in the territory controlled by the separatists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko with Christiane Amanpour today live. Much more on that story coming up, including an interview with a woman who knew two of the people on that plane. She calls them her mentors. She says she has been shattered by the loss.

Plus, Chris Cuomo is in Ukraine. He sat down with a rebel leader who controls the group accused of shooting the plane down.

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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How do you deny that it was your forces that brought down the plane?

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BALDWIN: It's an incredible interview. You have to stick around to see the whole thing with Chris. Stay tuned.

But now to the White House to today's Medal of Honor ceremony set to begin in just a couple of minutes. Let me just you back and tell you part of the story, and Barbara Starr

will help here me here in a minute. But it was the early morning hours. It was July 13, 2008. The Pentagon says Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Pitts displayed incredible courage as he and his unit came under attack from about 200 Taliban fighters.

And so while we wait for the ceremony to begin and, as always, we will bring it to you in full, here she is, Barbara at the Pentagon.

And, Barbara, you spoke with sergeant Pitts. Tell me his story, and take me back to 2008.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Brooke, on a day when we see so much horror on battlefields around the world, I think it's so timely to see this true tale of courage and valor by a U.S. Army staff sergeant in Eastern Afghanistan back in July of 2008.

His unit had been in Afghanistan already for 14 months, and they were about to go home. It was their last mission. They were moving positions when insurgents opened up on them. As you said a couple minutes ago, nine soldiers lost their lives by the time the battle was over, a couple dozen wounded. Ryan Pitts was hit almost instantly in both legs and his arm, and yet he kept fighting at this observation post, this O.P.

I want you to listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAFF. SGT. RYAN PITTS, U.S. ARMY: I just told them that everybody at the O.P. was either dead or gone and that they needed to send more people or the position would fall. And he said there wasn't anybody to send.

At that time, there wasn't. That's part of the burden of command is those are difficult decisions. You have to do what's going to be best for the overall fight. And there wasn't guys to send.

And I just said, OK, 920.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: His call sign, 920, he signed out with that, and kept fighting. Wounded, bleeding, he kept throwing hand grenades, he kept the radio working to try and get backup, help to call in aircraft and helicopters to come help.

By the time it was all over, that unit had paid a terrible price in the fallen, in the wounded. Ryan Pitts says he is accepting the Medal of Honor today, the nation's highest award for valor and courage on the battlefield under fire, accepting it for all of the men who served, for those who came home and those who did not -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: We have watched a number of these ceremonies play out live at this hour recently. And as we await and we wait for those chairs to fill and we wait for Sergeant Ryan Pitts, we will sneak a quick break in. We will take you back live to the White House for the U.S. Medal of Honor ceremony.

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BALDWIN: Here we go live to the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let us pray.

Oh, mighty God, today, as we honor an American soldier deserving of our nation's highest respect and thanks, he received this admiration for the valor, bravery and heroism displayed in battle as a warrior, has made his country proud, added forever to his unit's legacy.

He's of the chosen few to receive this honor today, as the nation pauses to recognize him.

Our hearts are touched by Staff Sergeant Ryan Pitts, who has humbly insisted that his remarkable actions during the Battle of Wanat was simply his duty, and that it was and always will be about his loyalty to his unit.

We acknowledge that same devotion came from the legacy of a faithful family, a family who cared for, supported and pray for Sergeant Pitts, as symbolized in that faded flag which flew proudly every day of his service in uniform.

And we join our hearts together as we honor his desire and remember the nine soldiers he continues to respect by his deeds each day. By honoring him today, we honor the courage and commitment of all who serve in harm's way, as we pray in your holy name, Amen.

OBAMA: Amen.

Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the White House. Please be seated. Please be seated.

For our forces in Afghanistan, the Battle of Wanat was one of the most fierce of this entire war; 48 Americans, along with their Afghan partners, were manning their small base deep in a valley when they were attacked by some 200 insurgents.

And those insurgents seemed determined to overrun an even smaller post just outside the base, an elevated patch of boulders and sandbags defended by just nine American soldiers.

Soon, under the relentless fire, all nine of these men were wounded or killed. Insurgents broke through the wire, and that little post was on the verge of falling, giving the enemy a perch from which to devastate the base below.

Against that onslaught, one American held the line, just 22 years old, nearly surrounded, bloodied but unbowed,the soldier we recognize today with our nation's highest military declaration, the Medal of Honor, Staff Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts.

Now, I don't want to embarrass Ryan, but the character he displayed that day was clearly forged early. I'm told that, in kindergarten, when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he drew a picture of a soldier.

When he was in the fifth grade, his teacher sent home a note that described Ryan in words that would be familiar to all those who knew him today. "Ryan," she wrote, "is a very special human being."

In Ryan Pitts, you see the humility and loyalty that define America's men and women in uniform. With this medal, he says: "It's not mine alone. It belongs to everybody who was there that day because we did it together."

So I want to welcome those who were there that day, Ryan's brothers in arms and those who welcoming -- are going to be welcoming him into their ranks, the members of the Medal of Honor Society.

We are very proud of them, and we are honored by the presence of the families of our fallen heroes as well.

We welcome Ryan's family, many from New Hampshire, including his wonderful wife, Amy. I have to take a pause, because they are actually celebrating, Ryan and Amy, their second anniversary today.

As Ryan put it, it's going to be tough topping this one as anniversaries go.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: But let me give you a piece of advice from somebody who's now been married over 20 years. You should try.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: I'm just saying. Don't rest on your laurels after just two years.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: We welcome their gorgeous son, 1-year-old Lucas, who Ryan is beginning to teach a love for all things New England, of course, the Red Sox and the Bruins and the Celtics and the Pats.

I want you to try and imagine the extraordinary circumstances in which Ryan and his team served. This was the summer of 2008, and this is a time when our forces in Afghanistan were stretched thin and our troops were deployed to isolated outposts. They had just arrived in Wanat just days before. And they were still building their very small base, a handful of armored vehicles and fighting positions and foxholes and sandbags.

Wanat, one report later concluded, had significant vulnerabilities. Parts of the village sat on higher ground. On every side, mountains soared 10,000 feet into the sky. Heavy equipment to help build their defenses was delayed.

In the 100-degree heat, the soldiers ran low on water. And the aerial surveillance they were counting on was diverted away to other missions. Early that morning, in the predawn darkness, they spotted several men up the mountains.

But before Ryan and his team could take action, the entire valley erupted. Machine gun fire and mortar and rocket-propelled grenades poured down from every direction.

And those 200 insurgents were firing from ridges and from the village and from trees. Down at the base, a vehicle exploded, scattering its missiles back at our soldiers. It was, said a soldier, hell on earth.

Up at their tiny post, Ryan and his team were being pounded. Almost instantly, every one of them was wounded. Ryan was hit by shrapnel in the arm and both legs and was bleeding badly. Already, three American soldiers in that valley had fallen, and then a fourth.

As the insurgents moved in, Ryan picked up a grenade, pulled the pin, and held that live grenade for a moment, and then another and then another, finally hurling it so they couldn't throw it back. And he did that again and he did it again.

Unable to stand, Ryan pulled himself up on his knees and manned a machine gun. Soldiers from the base below made a daring run, dodging bullets and explosions and joined the defense. But now the enemy was inside the post, so close, they were throwing rocks at the Americans, so close, they came right up to the sandbags.

Eight American soldiers had now fallen, and Ryan Pitts was the only living soldier at that post. The enemy was so close, Ryan could hear their voices. He whispered into the radio he was the only one left and was running out of ammo. "I was going to die," he remembers, "and made my peace with it." And then he prepared to make a last stand.

Bleeding and barely conscious, Ryan threw his last grenades. He grabbed a grenade launcher and fired nearly straight up so the grenade came back down on the enemy just yards away. One insurgent was now right on top of the post, shooting down, until another team of Americans showed up and drove them back.

As one of his teammates said, had it not been for Ryan Pitts, that post almost certainly would have been overrun.

Even with reinforcements, the battle was not over. Another wave of rocket-propelled grenades slammed into the post. Nine Americans were now gone. And still the fighting raged. Ryan worked the radio, helping target the airstrikes that were hitting danger close, just yards away.

And with those strikes, the tide of the battle began to turn. Eventually, the insurgents fell back. Ryan and his fellow soldiers had held their ground.

"This medal," Ryan says, "is an opportunity to tell our story." There was valor everywhere, according to Ryan. And so today, we also pay tribute to all who served with such valor that day, shielding their wounded buddies with their own bodies, picking up unexploded missiles with their hands and carrying them away, running through the gunfire to reinforce that post, fighting through their injuries and never giving up, helicopter pilots and medevac crews who came in under heavy fire.

Said one soldier, "Never in my career, have I seen such bravery and sacrifice."

And so I would ask all those who served at Wanat, on the ground and in the air, to please stand, those of you who are here today.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Most of all, Ryan says he considers this medal a memorial for the guys who didn't come home.

So, today, we honor nine American soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.

The son who absorbed love like a sponge, the expectant father whose dream would later come true, a beautiful baby girl, Specialist Sergio Abad.

The boy who dominated the soccer fields, fell in love with motorcycles and there in that remote outpost took a direct hit in the helmet and kept on fighting, Corporal Jonathan Ayers.

The photographer whose beautiful pictures captured the spirit of the Afghan people and who wrote to his family, "Afghanistan is exactly where I wanted to be," Corporal Jason Bogar.

The father who loved surfing with his son, the platoon leader who led a dash through the gunfire to that post to reinforce his men, 1st Lieutenant Jonathan Brostrom.

An immigrant from Mexico who became a proud American soldier on his third tour, whose final thoughts were of his family and his beloved wife Leslie, Sergeant Israel Garcia.

A young man of deep faith who served God and country who could always get a laugh with his impersonation of his commander, Corporal Jason Hovater.

The husband who couldn't wait to become an uncle, the adventurous spirit who in every photo from Afghanistan has a big smile on his face, Corporal Matthew Phillips.

The big guy with an even bigger heart, a prankster whose best play was cleaning up at the poker table with his buddies and dad, Corporal Pruitt Rainey.

And the youngest, just 20 years old, the little brother of the platoon, who loved to play the guitar and who, says his dad, did everything in his life with passion, Corporal Gunnar Zwilling.

These American patriots lived to serve us all. They died to protect each of us. And their legacy lives on in the hearts of all who love them still, especially their families, mothers, fathers, wives, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. To you, their families, I know no words can match the depth of your

loss, but please know that this nation will honor your soldiers now and forever.

And I would ask the Gold Star families from that deployment to please stand, including Ally Kaler (ph), age 11, and Jace Brostrom, who this week turns 12. Please stand.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: This is the story Ryan wants us to remember, soldiers who loved each other like brothers and who fought for each other, and families who have made a sacrifice that our nation must never forget.

Ryan says, "I think we owe it to them to live lives worthy of their sacrifice."

And he's absolutely right.

As commander in chief, I believe one of the ways we can do that is by heeding the lessons of Wanat. When this nation sends our troops into harm's way, they deserve a sound strategy and a well-defined mission, and they deserve the forces and support to get the job done. And that's what we owe soldiers like Ryan and all of `the comrades that were lost. That's how we can truly honor all those who gave their lives that day.

That's how, as a nation, we can remain worthy of their sacrifice. I know that's a view that's shared by our secretary of defense and by our Joint Chiefs of Staff and all the leadership here. They're hard lessons, but they're ones that are deeply ingrained in our hearts.

It is remarkable that we have young men and women serving in our military who day in, day out are able to perform with so much integrity, so much humility and so much courage.

Ryan represents the very best of that tradition. And we are very, very proud of him, as we are of all of you.

So, God bless you, Ryan. God bless all who serve in our name. May God continue to bless the United States of America.

And with that, I would like our military aide to please complete the ceremony.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States of America, authorized by act of Congress March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts distinguished himself by extraordinary acts of heroism, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, while serving as a forward observer in 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion Airborne, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, during combat operations against an armed enemy at Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler in the vicinity of Wanat Village, Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on July 13, 2008.

Early that morning, while Sergeant Pitts was providing security at Observation Post Topside, a well-organized anti-Afghan force consisting of over 200 members initiated a close-proximity, sustained and complex assault using accurate and intense rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and small-arms fire on the Wanat Vehicle Patrol Base.

An immediate wave of rocket-propelled grenade grounds engulfed the observation post, wounding Sergeant Pitts and inflicting heavy casualties.

Sergeant Pitts had been knocked to the ground and was bleeding heavily from shrapnel wounds to his arm and legs. But with incredible toughness and resolve, he subsequently took control of the observation post and returned fire on the enemy.

As the enemy drew nearer, Sergeant Pitts threw grenades, holding them after the pin was pulled and the safety lever was released to allow a nearly immediate detonation on the hostile forces. Unable to stand on his own and near death because of the severity of his wounds and blood loss, Sergeant Pitts continued to lay suppressive fire until a two-man reinforcement team arrived.

Sergeant Pitts quickly assisted them by giving up his main weapon and gathering ammunition, all while continually lobbing fragmentary grenades until these were expended.

At this point, Sergeant Pitts crawled to the northern position radio and described the situation to the command post, as the enemy continued to try and isolate the observation post from the main patrol base.

With the enemy close enough for him to hear their voices and with total disregard for his own life, Sergeant Pitts whispered in radio situation reports and conveyed information that the command post used to provide indirect fire support.

Sergeant Pitts' courage, steadfast commitment to the defense of his unit, and ability to fight while seriously wounded prevented the enemy from overrunning the observation post and capturing fallen American soldiers, and ultimately prevented the enemy from gaining fortified positions on higher ground from which to attack Wanat Vehicle Patrol Base.

Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts' extraordinary heroism and selflessness, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Company C, 2nd Battalion Airborne, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and the United States Army.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: It's not bad to stand up on this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let us pray. God, renew our hearts and our faith in you with the firm conviction to

live with humility and confidence that is strengthened from our shared admiration for Sergeant Pitts' exemplary service, his bravery and devotion.

Grant to us your favor that our nation may remain strong and safe, a free land, made so by brave soldiers who defend her on our shores and faraway outposts even today. And guide us in our lives so that we might remain worthy of their trust and respect, even as they remain faithful in their service.

All this, we pray in your blessed and holy name. Amen.

OBAMA: Amen.

Well, that concludes the official part of the ceremony. But we still have a big anniversary party.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: The White House, I understand, has prepared some pretty good edibles and some beverages.

And so I hope everybody enjoys the reception. I want to once again thank all who have served and the families of those who served. You make us proud every single day.

And to Ryan and Amy and Luke, we wish you all the very best, because what an extraordinary family you have. And the pleasures of family were hard-earned by this young man.

So, all right. Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America.

(APPLAUSE)

BALDWIN: He is a hero, husband, father. Sergeant Ryan Pitts, thank you so much for your service.

Coming up, we are learning new information about the crash of Malaysian Air Flight 17. Were any Russian personnel specifically involved in the attack? Were they on site? U.S. intelligence are now examining phone intercepts and social media to see if any Russians advised or even pulled the trigger a couple days ago.

Plus, a sit-down interview with the man who leads the pro-Russian rebel group accused of bringing this plane down. Chris Cuomo sat with him and he asked him if his group targeted the passenger plane -- his response coming up.

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