Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Ryan Pitts was 22.

Wounded.

Alone at a hilltop observation post in Afghanistan.

Seven of his guys had been killed.

Everyone else had fallen back or was hit.

He crawled to the radio and told his commander the truth: send people, or it is done.

His commander said there was no one to send.

Everyone was taking casualties.

But a junior soldier named Jake Songs heard that transmission and did not ask permission.

He grabbed his squad leader and two others and fought their way up to Pitts.

One of them, Garcia, was killed getting there.

Pitts is alive today because of that decision.

Some moments do not have a second chance.

🎧 Hear the full story in this Memorial Day special of The Hard Way.
youtu.be/bVctwPm8pMU

#RyanPitts, #MedalOfHonor, #WanatAfghanistan, #CombatLeadership, #GritUnderFire, #SpartanMindset, #TheHardWayPodcast