Medal of Honor Monday: William “Ryan” Pitts – Holding the Line at Combat Outpost Keating

Early Life and the Road to the Army

William “Ryan” Pitts was born in 1985 and raised in New Hampshire, far from the mountains and battlefields that would later define his life.

By his own account, he was never chasing medals or heroics; he was looking for purpose, structure, and a way to test himself.

After high school, Pitts enlisted in the U.S. Army, drawn to a profession that demanded accountability and teamwork. He trained as a forward observer, a job that requires calm under pressure, precision under fire, and the ability to think clearly when chaos is the norm.

By 2009, Pitts was serving with 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, deployed to eastern Afghanistan.

The Battle of COP Keating

On the morning of October 3, 2009, the enemy chose the time, the terrain, and the terms.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters poured down from the surrounding high ground onto Combat Outpost Keating, a remote U.S. position in Afghanistan’s Kamdesh district. The outpost sat at the bottom of a steep valley; tactically indefensible, impossible to reinforce quickly, and fully exposed to plunging fire.

Staff Sgt. Pitts was hit early by enemy fire but remained in the fight. As the assault intensified, he moved to reinforce a collapsing position. A second round struck him, shattering his leg and severing his femoral artery: a wound that is usually fatal within minutes.

Still, in great pain, Pitts refused to quit.

Bleeding heavily and drifting in and out of consciousness, he continued to call in artillery and close air support, adjusting fire as enemy fighters breached the perimeter and moved within the wire. He declined morphine so he could stay lucid. He relayed grids, corrected impacts, and stayed on the radio while the outpost burned around him.

At one point, Pitts was presumed dead, not out of neglect but because of his massive injuries and the fact that reaching him under fire risked more lives. When fellow soldiers finally dragged him to cover, he was pale, soaked in blood, and barely conscious—yet he continued to assist in directing fire.

After nearly 14 hours of sustained combat, eight Americans were killed, and much of the outpost was destroyed. But the attack was broken. The defense held.