One day after he misspoke to troops at Fort Drum, N.Y., about a soldier who earned the Medal of Honor posthumously, President Obama has apologized to the family.
The president said, "Throughout my service, first as a senator and then as a presidential candidate and then as a president, I’ve always run into you guys. And for some reason it’s always in some rough spots.
First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn’t receiving it posthumously."
The problem was, Jared Monti was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 21, 2006, and President Obama awarded him the Medal of Honor posthumously, September 17, 2009, handing the framed medal to his parents, Paul and Janet Monti.
The White House acknowledged the President's error, saying he misspoke, confusing Monti's Medal of Honor with that of Salvatore Guinta, who was the first living recipient of the medal who served in Afghanistan.
CBN News first broke the news about the gaffe Thursday, and the president has been widely criticized since.
Friday, Jared Monti's father, Paul Monti, posted on his Facebook profile that the president had personally called him to apologize.
"FYI - President Barack Obama telephoned me personally this afternoon to apologize for his error in his speech to the 10th mountain division re: Jared's medal ceremony. Apology accepted," Monti said in a Facebook status update.