Butler native and Army Spc. Loegan Kennedy has been flying drones for the U.S. Army for some time now. But last year his skill with a hellfire missile saved the lives of Iraqi soldiers fighting to liberate the city of Mosul from ISIS.

On May 17, a group of Iraqi soldiers was pinned down inside a building by ISIS during intense fighting during the Battle of Mosul.
 “They needed help immediately,” Kennedy said in a recent email exchange.
Kennedy, 23, a member of the Army's Delta Company 10th Aviation Regiment, informed the controller that he could get the job done using an MQ-1C drone.
“Our system has the best ability for using laser guided precision munitions and is more accurate than other aircraft,” Loegan said.
After giving Kennedy clearance to fire, the controller advised him of “danger close 15 meters away.”
That meant the Iraqi soldiers and ISIS fighters were only 15 meters away from each other and the possibility of injury or death was high. However, the Iraqis' company commander was willing to accept the risk to save his soldiers and agreed to the plan.
“I fired the missile into the side of the building. Once the missile entered the house and was fully inside, it blew up. The combination of the shrapnel from the missile and the concussion blast inside the house was enough to eliminate three ISIS fighters and wound one. This was enough to successfully suppress and eliminate the enemy for Iraqi fighters to maneuver safely through the war zone,” Loegan said.

In August, Kennedy got a surprise.
He was presented the Army Achievement Medal for his “expertise and audacious actions” on May 17. The certificate that goes along with the medal calls out Kennedy for his “exceptional achievement.”
Kennedy said he was surprised he received the medal, but proud of how he earned it.