Korean War Vet Still Pursing Purple Heart After 7 Decades

November 10, 2023 5:12 am

ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) — A 96-year-old Korean War veteran from Minnesota has been waiting for 70 years for a Purple Heart medal. The Army keeps turning him down. He has provided documents to back up his assertion that he was wounded in combat in June 1951. His doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs accepted his account that the shrapnel in his thigh came from a mortar attack. But an Army review board has issued what it called a final rejection in April, citing insufficient documentation. Meyer sued the Army in September. Now the Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army says it’s going to take another look.