Register Citizen: Torrington Veteran to Represent CT at National Purple Heart Patriot Mission

By Jack Hislop

Published 1:25 pm EDT, Wednesday, July 31, 2019

TORRINGTON — Former U.S. Army Major Dan Eddinger of Torrington understands the importance of honoring those who have fought, been wounded, or died for this nation.

That is why Eddinger will represent Connecticut at the inaugural Purple Heart Patriot Mission, which includes a first annual community rally on National Purple Heart Day.

Eddinger fought in Vietnam during the TET Offensive. There he was awarded the Purple Heart twice, first in May 1967, and again in January 1968.

“I had a piece of shrapnel go in the top of the left eye, fracture the orbit of the eye, had a piece of shrapnel go into the leg, had cuts up and down my hand and four teeth knocked outta my jaw from hand-to-hand with the bad guys,” said Eddinger.

Eddinger said eagerly agreed to be a part of the inaugural Purple Heart Patriot Mission community rally.

According to Col. Russ Vernon of the Purple Heart Patriot Mission, on August 5, 50 military veterans will be treated to a private tour of West Point Military Academy and a boat tour down the Hudson River. Afterward, the cadet parachute team will descend from the sky to meet with them.

On August 6, the veterans will visit the site of General George Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh, N.Y., followed by a tour of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. There, the veterans will record themselves sharing their stories for posterity. Any who visit the museum in the future need only type in a name and listen to one of the veterans tell his/her tale.

When asked about the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, Eddinger said, “All people who have any connection someone with the Purple Heart need to take that trip.”

National Purple Heart Day is August 7, and after two days of private tours, the festivities will be open to the public. The community rally will take place at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center, featuring Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha as the keynote speaker, organizers said.

There is no national database of every serviceman and woman who have received a Purple Heart, but it’s the goal of Colonel Vernon and The Purple Heart Patriot Mission to get as many veterans or next of kin to come by The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and tell their stories.

“Most people who get Purple hearts, there’s no ceremony,” said Eddinger. “Most of ‘em, you wake up in the hospital and a Purple Heart’s pinned on your pillow. Or, they receive a Purple Heart in the mail when somebody’s passed.”

In Eddinger’s personal work, he has played a pivotal role in having Torrington and New Milford declared “Purple Heart Cities,” for which the city signs a proclamation saying it supports those who are wounded in combat. An “all call” goes out to the churches in town, asking for veterans to come forward and participate in meet and greets. Booklets of their stories can be found in each town hall.

Still, not every Purple Heart recipient comes forward, or is even aware there is such praise to be had. According to Vernon, The Purple Heart Patriot Mission has a solution to this. He said a lot of veterans have Purple Heart license plates. So, they hand out branded coins to police officers.

“They’ll pull over a car with a Purple Heart and the guy’s thinking ‘oh my God, what did I do?” said Vernon. “And the cop will say ‘hey kid, thanks for your service,’ and give ‘em a Purple Heart coin, and (say) ‘let’s get you registered.’”

The First Purple Heart Patriot Mission Community Rally is scheduled to 5 to 6:30 p.m. August 7 at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center in Newburgh, N.Y.