Tributes pour in for Raynham's Paul Monti, whose fierce love for his son inspired so many

RAYNHAM – The Veterans Day after the Taliban killed his son, Paul Monti visited Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti's grave at the National Cemetery in Bourne.

No flags marked his son's flat stone, or those of any other servicemembers buried there. National regulations forbid it.

Paul Monti, a longtime earth sciences teacher at Stoughton High, wouldn't rest until he overturned that policy. It took three years and a lot of help, but he did it.

"He wasn't gonna stop," his sister, Jean, said Saturday. "He didn't do it just for Jared. He did it for all the soldiers."

Paul Monti died Friday at a Brockton hospice. He was 76.

He will rest alongside his son, family members said. That's owing to another Gold Star parent, Mansfield's Denise Anderson, who got the law changed so that parents can be buried with their adult children at military cemeteries.

Grief inspired country song

A widening circle of tributes is gaining strength as news of Paul's death spreads to his students, veterans, active-duty servicemembers and their families. It includes songwriter Connie Harrington, who heard a story on NPR about Paul driving Jared's black 2001 Dodge Ram to feel closer to his son.

Harrington helped channel that grief into "I Drive Your Truck," which won Song of the Year at the Country Music Awards. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts for Lee Brice in 2013. It's still an anthem for anyone who has lost someone they love.

Brice posted a tribute to Paul to the 2.3 million people who follow his Facebook page.

"Mr. Paul drove Jared’s truck to remember his son and to feel that much closer to him," Brice said. "With the windows down, [G]atorade on the floor board, dog tags in the rearview, he drove it proudly and unbeknownst to him, created a song that so many could relate to by sharing his story."

A hard-working, loving father

Reached Saturday, Paul Monti's daughter Niccole described him as a good father who coached Jared's soccer teams and never missed one of her softball games.

"He did so much for his community, and really, so much for the state of Massachusetts," Niccole Monti said.

How did a high school geology teacher get the gumption to tackle the Department of Veterans Affairs and the tenacity to keep fighting until he won? Niccole said he learned it in his bones from his immigrant parents. He learned it delivering newspapers and working odd jobs growing up. He learned it working two and sometimes three jobs to supplement his teacher's salary.

"My father grew up very poor," she said, "nothing was handed to my father."

Paul came from a family of 13. He was No. 5 , said Jean, who is No. 11.

Massachusetts Fallen Heroes posted a remembrance, saying "Paul has left us to join his son Jared in heaven."

The organization works to support Gold Star families. That's the name for families who have lost someone during military service.

"Mr. Monti took all that pain and used that energy to do much good in supporting Gold Star Families, Veterans, and Jared's legacy," the remembrance said.

Massachusetts Fallen Heroes has started a fund for the family, which has faced significant medical bills.

A deathbed visit from Gov. Charlie Baker

The tributes began before Paul died.

On Wednesday, Jean Monti let the office of Gov. Charlie Baker know that Paul was dying. The governor planned to visit Friday, but came to Paul's bedside on Thursday after being alerted that he wasn't expected to live that long. He had been diagnosed with mesothelioma and had gone into heart failure, according to his sister.

"He knelt down next to my brother, it was like, 'Wow,'" Jean said. "He didn't come as a politician, he came as a friend."

Jared's large family had struck coins in his honor. The family gave Baker one years ago, and the governor keeps it in his pocket, Jean said.

Raynham remembers

You won't go far in Raynham without seeing a tribute to Jared Monti. There's a playground, a function room at the American Legion and a bridge.

Joe Pacheco, a Raynham selectman, said he thought Paul's biggest contribution was in not just bringing to the forefront the sacrifices of our service men and women, but keeping them there.

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Micaila Britto, former veteran's service officer for Raynham, first met Paul Monti when she was placing flags at Bourne.

"Paul is very, very low-key, doesn't really want to talk about himself," Britto said Saturday. "He wants people to know about Jared."

The whole nation knows about Jared. President Barack Obama presented Jared's posthumous Medal of Honor to Paul and Janet Monti in a 2009 White House ceremony. Jared's story appears in "The Outpost," a book by CNN anchor Jake Tapper that was made into a movie. A deeply reported account appears in The Atlantic magazine.

The official citation lays out the actions that earned him the country's highest military honor.

Jared Monti was a forward targeting scout on his second tour of Afghanistan when Taliban fighters attacked his unit's position atop "Hill 2610."

"While still directing fire, Staff Sgt. Monti personally engaged the enemy with his rifle and a grenade, successfully disrupting an attempt to flank his patrol. Staff Sgt. Monti then realized that one of his Soldiers was lying wounded in the open ground between the advancing enemy and the patrol’s position.

With complete disregard for his own safety, Staff Sgt. Monti twice attempted to move from behind the cover of the rocks into the face of relentless enemy fire to rescue his fallen comrade. Determined not to leave his soldier, Staff Sgt. Monti made a third attempt to cross open terrain through intense enemy fire. On this final attempt, he was mortally wounded, sacrificing his own life in an effort to save his fellow soldier."

'He just had a way with him'

Britto recalls Paul Monti bringing her a lucky bamboo plant on her first day on the job. It was the act of a man who knew he'd be pushing her to do her best for Raynham's vets.

"He touched so many people's lives, from little kids, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts planting flags, all the way up to the governor and so many elected officials," Britto said. "He just had a way with him."

The wake will be held at Chapman Funeral & Cremations in Bridgewater from 4-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31 and funeral Mass at St. Ann's Church in Raynham on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 10 a.m., with burial to follow at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on Twitter at @HelmsNews. Thank you, subscribers. You make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Brockton Enterprise.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Raynham: Medal of Honor recipient Jared Monti's father Paul has died