Vietnam War Veteran receives Purple Heart and service medals decades after retirement from service

After being put into hospice care, a retired Vietnam War veteran made it his mission to receive his service medals, including a Purple Heart, that had been overlooked and not given to him for decades after his retirement from service.

On Friday, with the help of Mount Scott Chapter 602 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs and U.S. Sen. James Lankford, retired Vietnam War veteran Sgt. Bob Young of the Fourth Infantry Division received his service medals during a ceremony at the Lawton Fort Sill Veterans Center auditorium.

Young joined the military in 1966 and served two tours in Vietnam before his retirement in 1977. During his time in Vietnam, Young was injured twice in combat. The first of his injuries was from a punji stick, a type of booby trap, that went through his left calf. Young’s second injury came from mortar fire while he was in a fox hole. Following his retirement in 1977, Young spent 44 years driving semi-trucks around the country.

Bruce Dwyer from the Mount Scott Chapter 602 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart had gotten to know Young through his time in hospice, as Dwyer spends his time comforting veterans in hospice care. Young told Dwyer that more than anything, he wanted to get his medals that he never received after his two tours in Vietnam.

Young never received his service medals, which Dwyer said is unfortunately a common occurrence for many veterans from Vietnam. Young automatically qualified for a Purple Heart as does anyone who is wounded during service. Dwyer said veterans who don’t receive their medals get overlooked due to the hectic nature of war.

“Sometimes there’s so much going on, they can just fall through the cracks and get overlooked,” Dwyer said.

Dwyer said it can take up to year to get those medals, but he reached out to the Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs and to Sen. James Lankford’s office to see if the process could be expedited for Young. ODVA Service Officer Doug Ferguson and Lankford were in full support of getting these medals to Young properly and in a timely manner, Dwyer said.

Young received seven medals, three badges, and seven campaign ribbons along with a shadow box to protect and display his medals. The awards included Purple Heart; Air Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Good Conduct Medal, second award; National Defense Service Medal with 1 bronze service star; Vietnam Service Medal; Combat Infantryman Badge, first award; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon; Expert Badge with Rifle Bar; Marksman Badge with Carbine Bar.

During the ceremony Ferguson spoke of Young’s service and described his willingness to go back into battle after his first injury as heroic.

“He went back for a second tour after getting a Purple Heart. That’s one hell of a man to me,” said Ferguson.

Lankford couldn’t attend the ceremony himself, but he gave his thanks in a declaration read by a representative of his, Constituent Services Representative Maggie Sharum. Sharum assisted in getting the medals ready for Young in a two-month window rather than the normal timeline of up to year. In the declaration, Lankford thanked Young for his service and dedication to his country and admired his willingness to serve two terms of service.

At the end of Friday’s ceremony, Dwyer was informed of another resident at Lawton Fort Sill Veterans Center that had never received his medals. He said he was going to do everything he can to get the patient’s medals and throw a similar ceremony for the retired veteran.

“I’m glad that I get to be a small cog in giving these veterans the recognition they deserve,” said Dwyer.