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Monday, December 26, 2011

The Seattle Times 2011 Photos of the Year

Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, who lost his right hand May 26, 2008, in the war in Afghanistan, demonstrates his prosthetic hand at a news conference at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in July. Petry received the Medal of Honor from President Obama July 12. "For all the people we meet in this job, the ones who leave the most lasting impression are heroes, and by every measure, Army Ranger Leroy Petry was that. Petry had lost his hand to a grenade and had a prosthetic replacement. You could tell how intrigued he was with it when he demonstrated its ability to rotate 360 degrees. I considered it a high honor to shake that hand after the news conference, and again some time later at a Mariners game." -- Dean Rutz