Butler native 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 were pinned down inside a building by ISIS fighters during intense fighting in the Battle of Mosul.

ISIS gained control of the northern Iraqi city in 2014, but Iraqi, Kurdish, American and other international forces launched an offensive to reclaim the city in October 2016. By spring of this year, major progress had been made and victory was declared in Mosul in July.

There were some intense battles along the way to finally drive ISIS out of its stronghold, including one in May during Operation Inherent Resolve.

Iraqi soldiers had been trapped in a building by ISIS and a Navy SEAL joint tactical airspace controller, in charge of coordinating movements between aviation and ground troops, called out for aircraft to assist the Iraqis.

“They needed help immediately,” said 23-year-old Army Spc. Loegan Kennedy of Butler, in a recent email exchange.

The controller reached an Apache helicopter and asked the crew to take out the ISIS fighters, but the crew said it couldn't be done due to the proximity of the enemy fighters and the Iraqi soldiers.

Kennedy, 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.

Also known as the Gray Eagle, the MQ-1C is one of the largest drone aircraft used in combat. It is capable of carrying four Hellfire missiles, flying to 25,000 feet and remaining airborne for 26 hours.

“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,” Kennedy said.

Three months later, 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 exceptional achievement while serving as the aircraft operator of MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS, Specialist Kennedy's expertise and audacious actions to find, fix and destroy the enemy in the Battle of Mosul provided for a successful danger close engagement and returned freedom on maneuver to Iraqi forces allowing them to maintain movement in the defeat of the Islamic State.

“His application of expertise saved the lives of pinned down friendly forces. His actions bring great credit upon himself, D Company, 10th Aviation Regiment, 29th Combat Aviation Brigade and the United States Army.”

Kennedy said he was proud of how he earned the medal.

“I was actually surprised I got the medal. The commander called me up in front of the unit and I had no idea what was going on until they handed the medal followed by why I received it.

“I never expected to receive something like that, but it does feel good. I won't lie. Knowing that we are able to make a difference on the battlefield and to save lives, not only our troops and other soldiers, but the general population,” Kennedy said.

His mother, Janine Kennedy of Butler, is proud too.

“It was impressive because they're crediting him with saving those soldiers' lives,” she said.

Having her son's actions called expertise and audacious is special.

“He was so excited. That's big deal in the military to have an award that's worded like that. So its pretty cool,” she said.

Kennedy, a 2012 Butler High School graduate, earned the opportunity to fly the Gray Eagle by scoring in the top 10 percent of his unit using smaller drones, his mother said.

“What makes our job unique in the military is that it's the only aviation job in which enlisted soldiers can fly. I'm a specialist E-4. You have to be an officer for other aviation jobs,” Kennedy said.

“We are all qualified as pilots by the FAA and have been through ground school to be able to safely operate in airspace. All operators are trained not only to fly an aircraft, but also conduct surveillance, reconnaissance in force and security,” Kennedy said.

He is the third generation of the Kennedys to have served the country in the Army.

Kennedy's father, Troy, served in the Persian Gulf War and his grandfather, Robert, is an Army veteran.

“We're just a military family. What can I say?” Janine Kennedy said.

With two years left in his first six-year enlistment, Kennedy said he plans to re-enlist and hopes to join the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. That unit works more closely with special forces, Navy seals and other special operations task forces, he said.