Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sergeant (Ret.) Clinton Romesha was the guest of honor at the Huntsville Museum of Art’s “Voices of Our Times” program held on April 18.

Staff Sergeant Romesha traveled from his home in North Dakota to deliver remarks at the event, and to have a conversation with Lieutenant General (Ret.) Jim Pillsbury.

The two gentlemen were introduced by Jay Town, Vice President and General Counsel at Gray Analytics. Town emphasized what an exceptional privilege it was to hear from a Medal of Honor Recipient.

“There have only been 3,536 Medals of Honor awarded in our nation’s history,” said Town. “[Created] during the Civil War, there are only 62 living recipients at the moment. Most of those are Vietnam era recipients. Clint was the fourth living recipient from the Global War on Terror. We are in rare air to be with a Medal of Honor recipient.”

Romesha was awarded the Medal of Honor for displaying extraordinary courage in the Battle of Kamdesh, which took place on October 3, 2009 at Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan. On the morning of the attack, an estimated 400 Taliban fighters surrounded US troops — who were positioned at the bottom of a steep valley.

Throughout the course of the firefight, Staff Sergeant Romesha showed uncommon courage by relentlessly defending the outpost, even after he had been wounded and Taliban forces had penetrated the boundaries of the US post.

Staff Sergeant Romesha was awarded the Medal of Honor on February 11, 2013, during the administration of President Barack Obama.

Staff Sergeant Romesha, the son and grandson of combat veterans, said he had the desire to serve in the armed forces since he was a boy. Romesha said that the actions that he took on the morning of October 3, 2009 were the culmination of decades of preparation.

“That was [the result of] a lifetime of values instilled in me through my parents, my community, through my time in service, through two other combat deployments prior to that, time in Kosovo, time in Germany and Korea,” said Romesha. “So what happened that day was just a compilation of all that coming together.”

SSG Romesha shared lessons on leadership that he gleaned from his time in the service. He emphasized that these truths apply equally to leadership roles in civilian life.

“A great leader will always change their leadership style for everybody below them, and not expect everybody below them to change to them,” said Romesha. “You lead by example, you lead from the front. Never ask somebody to do something you haven’t already done yourself, or [that] you wouldn’t be willing to do with them.”

Staff Sergeant Romesha says that every time he puts on the Medal of Honor he wonders why he made it out of that battle, while eight of his fellow soldiers did not.

“When I put this little blue ribbon, this silk, around my neck I know it’s not mine. I just got selected to wear it,” said Romesha. “It represents not just those eight men, not just those 50 guys who were fighting with me that day, but every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, or, now, Space Force [member] that has ever put on that uniform, that is currently wearing that uniform.”

In their conversation, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Jim Pillsbury asked Staff Sergeant Romesha what he would tell a couple whose 16-year-old son or daughter was considering serving in the armed forces.

“My biggest advice for a family that might have a child that’s thinking about military service is to just be upfront with them,” answered Romesha. “When you put that uniform on, you might have to go do or see things that no one should have to do and see. And they will get an experience like no other. They will make friends for life, they will get so many challenges and blessings and hardships and highlights that there is no place else in the world that you will ever find that.”

The staff sergeant closed his remarks by explaining that the Global War on Terrorism is unique because the vast majority of Americans were personally removed from the conflict, as only a small percentage of the US population served in those wars. Romesha said that he needs civilians to understand just a bit about the struggles that veterans of those conflicts endured.

“We’ve got to share our stories,” said Romesha. “If we don’t share our stories, that sacrifice is forgotten. That connection is forgotten. I don’t need a civilian that’s never worn the uniform to know exactly what I’m saying, but I want them to experience a little bit of what really happened.”

Staff Sergeant Romesha wrote Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor about the battle that took place at Outpost Keating.

The next “Voices of Our Times” event, to be held on the evening of June 20, will feature award-winning fashion designer Billy Reid.