A twenty-three-year veteran of U.S. Army, Zerger enlisted in November 1965 and served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1971. In April 1971, while stationed in the A Shau Valley, Zerger was wounded during an enemy ambush. In addition to his Purple Heart, SFC Zerger received numerous commendations and awards, including the National Defense Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and more.
Read MoreHARWINTON – More than five decades after serving in Vietnam, Retired Army Staff Sgt. Robert Sodergren said he feels like he is being welcomed home.
Read MoreArmy Staff Sgt. Robert Sodergren, a Harwinton local, was named the Purple Heart Patriot Project’s Connecticut representative and is being honored by the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor at West Point.
Read MoreA bill to honor the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor with a commemorative coin awaits the president’s signature.
Read MoreWASHINGTON – The House of Representatives has advanced Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s (D, NY-18) bill, the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act with unanimous support. The bill now awaits the president’s signature to become law.
Read MoreA local Purple Heart recipient has been chosen to be one of the nation’s 2021 Purple Heart Patriot Project honorees. U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Sodergren of Harwinton, a Vietnam War veteran, will represent his fellow Purple Heart heroes as Connecticut’s representative at a multi-day tribute to the courage and sacrifice of American’s combat wounded.
Read MoreWashington, D.C. – Tonight, the House advanced Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s (NY-18) bill, the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act with unanimous support. The bill now awaits the President’s signature to become law.
Read MoreSodergren served on active duty for three years, from 1965 to 1968, including time with the 101st Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. During Operation Junction City, SSG Sodergren was on a recon patrol when he was ambushed. During the attack, Sodergren suffered a shrapnel wound to the head. In addition to his Purple Heart, Mr. Sodergren received numerous commendations and awards, including the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army Commendation Medal and more. After being discharged, he started his own contracting business. Robert and his wife, Maureen, have three children and six grandchildren.
Read MoreA twenty-year veteran of the U.S. Army, former CSM Evans enlisted in September 1948. His career took him across the country and around the world. Evans earned his Purple Heart during his tour of duty in Korea in September 1950, when then-SGT Evans was acting as a Forward Observer with G-Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. Evans and his unit came under mortar fire. When the shelling stopped the men started advancing. When a new round of shelling started, a mortar landed right behind him in his foxhole. Evans was evacuated to a Tokyo, Japan, hospital.
Read MoreFormer Marine Cpl Hurley enlisted in February 1969. On January 6, 1970, while a member of 1st Battalion, 7Th Marines, 1st Marine Division stationed at LZ Ross the base became overrun by North Vietnamese who were masquerading as Marines. Hurley, who was in his foxhole with three fellow Marines, was injured when a NVA soldier ran past and threw a satchel charge into the hole. The attack left him with shrapnel wounds and damaged ear drums.
Read MoreA thirty-five-year veteran of the U.S. Army, former SGM Blair enlisted in February 1982. In July 2012, while deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, Blair was returning from a patrol in Zabul Province when the vehicle where he was the gunner was hit by a improvised explosive device (IED). As the vehicle rolled to the side of the road, insurgents started firing at the Americans, the blasts knocked Blair out and he woke up at the FOB and was airlifted for treatment to Kandahar.
Read MoreWASHINGTON, D.C. (WWTI) — A recent Act passed in the Senate will help to honor Purple Heart recipients.
Read MoreWASHINGTON – The US Senate has passed the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act, which will see a coin honoring Purple Heart recipients.
Read MoreU.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney today announced that The National Purple Heart Honor Mission Commemorative Coin Act has passed the Senate and will now head back to the House for final confirmation before landing on the president’s desk for signature. Schumer introduced the bipartisan legislation in the Senate jointly with Senator Kevin Cramer [R-ND] last Veteran’s Day, following Rep. Maloney’s championing of the bill in the House.
Read MoreGuest speakers for the event were Vietnam veteran Danny Murphy, who serves as vice president of the Silverhill Veterans Memorial Organization, and Korean veteran Ed Evans, a Purple Heart recipient who was recently tapped as Alabama’s honoree for the 2021 Purple Heart Patriot Project which will be held in New York in April of next year.
Read MoreNEWBURGH – Dozens of Purple Heart heroes have been chosen to represent their states as honorees for the 2021 Purple Heart Patriot Project, the National Purple Heart Honor Mission based in Newburgh, announced this Veteran’s Day.
Read MoreSILVERHILL, Ala. (WKRG) — Seventy years ago, Ed Evans was literally fighting for his life on a hill in North Korea. A four-day assault would end with him being airlifted out of the warzone and shipped to Japan where surgeons would struggle to save his left leg after a mortar explosion. Eventually, they were successful.
Read MoreThey will bear the scars of war for a lifetime, but also have the admiration of all Americans. Dozens of Purple Heart heroes have been chosen to represent their states as honorees for the 2021 Purple Heart Patriot Project, the National Purple Heart Honor Mission announced this Veteran's Day.
Read MoreDan Eddinger, Connecticut's honoree during Purple Heat Patriot Project Mission #1, joined National Report on NewsmaxTV on Veteran's Day to talk about his experience in the first Patriot Project mission, how the Honor Mission is set to honor a new class of honorees and what Veteran’s Day means to him.
Read MoreRetired Col. Russ Vernon, the Executive Director of the National Purple Heart Honor Mission, joins the Pensacola Morning News to discuss the Patriot Project, which honors Purple Heart recipients by giving them an all-expenses-paid multi-day visits to US Military Academy at West Point, historic Washington’s Headquarters where the Badge of Military Merit originated in 1782, and a private tour of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Col. Vernon also recognized Col. Washington Sanchez, who is the Florida recipient of the Patriot Project.
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