Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Petry had an active youth, and joined the Army after high school.

Petry became the second recent living recipient of the medal for the war in Afghanistan in 2011 when he received the award from U.S. President Barack Obama.

Opting to reenlist in spite of his injury, Petry remained on active duty in the U.S. Army until his retirement on July 29, 2014.

Petry attended Santa Fe High School but was a poor student; he repeated his freshman year.

Growing up, Petry played football and basketball, and he also enjoyed fixing cars and cooking in his spare time.

[6] Petry provided additional supervision to an assaulting squad during the clearance of a building, and afterward he took Private First Class Lucas Robinson to clear an outer courtyard.

He was evacuated to an American hospital in Germany, where he spent several weeks in recovery before being transferred to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center in Fort Hood, Texas.

[6] Petry received the Medal of Honor from U.S. President Barack Obama on July 12, 2011, in a ceremony at the White House.

He is the second living recipient of the medal, after Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, for actions occurring after the Vietnam War.

[15] Following this award, Petry was asked to appear on talk shows and at other gatherings, starting with Good Morning America.

[4] He was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, where he served as a liaison officer for United States Special Operations Command's Care Coalition Northwest Region.

[20] In January 2015, Master Sergeant Jose Rodela and Petry attended the All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

[21] In April 2015, Corporal Kyle Carpenter, and Petry, returned to Afghanistan where both addressed deployed service members.

[23] In 2015 and 2016, fellow Medal of Honor recipients Meyer, and Clint Romesha, and Petry became involved in the movie Range 15.

[25] During the 2016 United States presidential election, Petry endorsed the candidacy of Jeb Bush, then Donald Trump.

[26] Working with non-profit organisations, Petry has escorted wounded veterans to return to Afghanistan, for Operation Proper Exit, more than a dozen times.

[27] Along with fellow Medal of Honor recipient Florent Groberg, Petry works for a consulting company, Mission 6 Zero.

[37] MSG Petry has received the following awards:[5] For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Staff Sergeant Leroy A. Petry distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the vicinity of Paktya Province, Afghanistan, on May 26, 2008.

As a Weapons Squad Leader with D Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Staff Sergeant Petry moved to clear the courtyard of a house that potentially contained high-value combatants.

While crossing the courtyard, Staff Sergeant Petry and another Ranger were engaged and wounded by automatic weapons fire from enemy fighters.

Staff Sergeant Petry's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service, and reflect great credit upon himself, 75th Ranger Regiment, and the United States Army.