Reunited Friends, a Missing Medal, and a Wrong Righted More than 50 Years Later

Tell me about it. Don't know if I mentioned it before, but my Purple Heart Medal, citation, and orders were destroyed when a 122mm rocket my unit's supply room where they were stowed away in my duffle bag. When I cleared Division on my way back to the states, I failed to note that they hadn't logged my PH into my OMPF. Later, while going through POM at Ft. Hood, they told me there was no record of my PH so I would have to stop wearing it.

I filed a request for review as I was leaving for Hawaii in the fall of '73. Fast forward to the summer of '81 when our PAO at Ft. Knox called me in for an awards presentation. I was stunned when he pinned the PH to me and gave me a new set of orders from HQDA. They had gone to the records of the 27th Surgical Hospital in Chu Lai and found the records of my treatment for wounds on 3 Sept. 1970. Voila! . . .

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. - It's a good thing I kept the paper record from the field hospital, or I wouldn't have got mine, Brother Dale. I have about given up getting my Bronze Star w/V \ I was put in for. This story sounded so similar to all my trying I've done.

Why am I not surprised? . . .

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. I know, right?