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News: 06/11/2013 10:00 AM CDT Contact: Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office Office: 608-242-3050 or Cell: 608-516-1777 NEWS: Purple Hearts awarded to 2 Wisconsin Guardsmen June 11, 2013
Dodging and weaving through blast holes that marked his route, Crull and others from the 1157th were on a convoy escort mission when a 150-pound improvised explosive device rocked the road beneath them, flipping their 30-ton mine resistant ambush protected vehicle on its side. Crull, of Hollandale, Wis., and fellow Wisconsin Army National Guardsmen Spc. Lindsay Peterson, of Green Bay, Wis., received Purple Heart Medals for the wounds they received May 14, 2012 during a June 7 ceremony before family and fellow unit members. Peterson suffered knee, head, facial, back, and arm injuries as a result of the blast, while Crull suffered face, head, and back injuries of his own. Both Soldiers were later evacuated to receive medical treatment. "There are many awards that Soldiers or Airmen might desire to want to achieve," said Brig. Gen. Mark Anderson, the state's assistant adjutant general for Army. "The Purple Heart is not one of them." The Purple Heart is awarded to military service members wounded in combat. "While it's never a recognition that we desire to present to our Soldiers, when it is appropriate, it is absolutely necessary that we do take the opportunity to present to them the recognition for their service and what they sacrificed for their country," Anderson said at the presentation ceremony in the 1157th's Oshkosh armory. Both Soldiers said they were honored to receive the medal, but they never sought to achieve it. "Right now I feel like it's an award that you don't want. It's an award that nobody expects," said Peterson. "Everyone goes downrange with the expectation that maybe something could happen, but you always think that maybe it's not going to happen to you. And then it does, and you get this award and you feel grateful for all the support and everything, but it's not something that you ever wanted." Maj. Gen. Donald Dunbar, the state's adjutant general, presented the medals to the two Soldiers and thanked them for the service and sacrifice. Dunbar invoked the award's long lineage in American military tradition, saying, "What Gen. George Washington was recognizing was the courage and bravery of the Soldier who had the guts to put the uniform on and stand up for something bigger than himself, stand up for freedom for our country, and go forth into an environment where they may have to give up their life." Crull, Peterson, and the rest of the 1157th Transportation Company deployed to Afghanistan in May 2012. They returned home in January 2013. - 30 -
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Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Purple Hearts awarded to 2 Wisconsin Guardsmen
On his first convoy mission in Afghanistan, Spc. Chase Crull was alert. His unit, the Oshkosh, Wis.-based 1157th Transportation Company had arrived in Afghanistan just days before.
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