‘His sacrifice': Lee Brice attends ceremony at new Army facility dedicated to fallen Mass. soldier
Wearing black sunglasses, country singer Lee Brice began playing his guitar in Natick on Monday and sang his hit song, 'I Drive Your Truck.'
Parked next to Brice was the 2001 Dodge Ram truck once owned by Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. First Class Jared Monti, the fallen Massachusetts soldier whose story inspired the song.
Brice joined military leaders, friends and family members at the dedication of a new military research facility dedicated to Monti.
The 30-year-old Raynham native was serving with the 10th Mountain Division when was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2006 while trying to save a fallen soldier. In 2009, then-President Barack Obama posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Monti.
Military officials on Monday unveiled the Development Command Soldier Center (DEVCOM)'s new Jared C. Monti Soldier & Squad Research Facility.
The Natick facility bearing Monti's name aims to better protect soldiers through researching and developing new equipment and training methods.
Brice's song, released in 2012, came about after Monti's father, Paul Monti, said publicly that he drove his son's truck after his combat death. Paul Monti passed away in 2022.
'All these years later, being in a moment like this, a day like this, it just keeps coming back,' Brice said Monday after performing his song that pays tribute to the fallen Massachusetts hero. 'This song is special. Jared Monti and his family mean so much to us, so just glad to be here.'
He said after all these years, this song in particular 'has been a huge blessing to me.'
'It brings healing, what the song says, that's what it's meant to be,' Brice said. 'It's meant to be a healing song, to find your own way to grieve.'
Monti's sister, Nicole Monti-Alicea, addressed the crowd on Monday. She recalled how she and her family learned the news that her brother had been killed in action.
'To the nation, Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti is a war hero... Rest in peace, little brother,' she said.
Brice, meanwhile, spoke of Monti and 'His sacrifice for all of us as Americans.'
'Today kind of stamps a moment in time for him to live forever,' Brice said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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