Grafton Soldier to Attend White House Dinner

A Grafton soldier is scheduled to have a famous dinner date tomorrow night: The President of the United States and the First Lady.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Piirainen of Grafton has been invited to a White House dinner Wednesday hosted by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

He is one of 77 service members invited to the dinner to express the nation's gratitude to and recognize the contributions of those who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and/or Operation New Dawn, according to information provided by the Web site of Hill Air Force Base in northern Utah, where Piirainen is based.

He was selected to represent his home state of Massachusetts at the dinner.

Piirainen has been stationed at Hill Air Force Base most of his eight-year career, but has also served three six-month tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

During his last tour in Afghanistan in September, he and six other soldiers were injured when they were called to clear an improvised explosive device from a field where an Army team was patrolling.

Piirainen was given a Purple Heart for the injuries he sustained.

The White House has invited nearly 200 people to the formal dinner, including military leaders and families of deceased service members who died in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Approximately 60 invitees, including Piirainen, were selected by a panel of the senior enlisted service members of each branch of the military to represent each state and territory in the nation and come from diverse backgrounds, all services and all ranks.