By Ed Pierce
Managing Editor
I recently listened to a story on NPR about an active-duty U.S. Navy corpsman who turned down a Purple Heart medal for being wounded by an enemy mortar shell in Afghanistan because he didn’t think his wounds were “severe enough.”
While I commend that sailor for standing up for his
convictions, it also reminded me of how valuable that Purple Heart medal can be
for some and a story of a veteran who desperately sought one and died without
ever obtaining it.
George Nichols grew up in Boston and was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II and trained as a medic. His job was to retrieve wounded soldiers from the battlefield and bring them to the Army aid station for treatment.
While on his 19th trip onto the beach to rescue
wounded servicemen during the American landing at Anzio in Italy in 1944, a
German mortar shell exploded nearby, sending shrapnel into his right knee. He
completed that mission and Army physicians stitched up his wound, bandaged it
and then sent him back to the front lines.
George’s first sergeant told him that he was going to put him
in for the Purple Heart medal for being wounded in action. Being just 19 at the
time, George said he was more concerned about surviving the war than the medal,
so six months later when the war was over, he was discharged without ever
receiving the Purple Heart.
He got a job working in the shipyard in Boston, got married,
bought a home, and raised two daughters. After retiring, he and his wife moved
to Contoocook, New Hampshire to be closer to where their daughters and
grandchildren lived. George joined the VFW and some of his veteran buddies
asked why if he had been wounded that he didn’t have a Purple Heart.
His wife died and George’s physical condition required more care than his family could provide, so he eventually moved to the New Hampshire Veterans Home. He had cancer, was on oxygen and was in a wheelchair when he told me his story and asked if I could write about his plight and convince some politician or the VA to do the right thing and award him the medal.
George was by then 89 years old, and he told me all he wanted
to do before he died was to receive the Purple Heart that he had fought so hard
for.
Of all the military medals, the VA strictly enforces the rules
for the Purple Heart more than any other because of the importance it holds and
the physical injuries that military members endure in combat to be awarded
it. In George’s case, he was denied for
reasons beyond his control.
Since the VA requires documentation of medical wounds from
each combat injury to award the Purple Heart and without those records lost in
the fire, the only way George could receive his medal would be to produce three
affidavits of soldiers who physically saw his wounds more than 70 years before
in 1944.
He had his discharge papers from the Army, but not his medical
records and it was impossible to find soldiers from the battlefield at Anzio
who could attest that George had been wounded, even though his knee still bore
the shrapnel scars decades later.
When the story appeared in the newspaper, numerous veterans
wrote or called the veteran’s home and offered to give George their own Purple
Heart medals that they had earned in combat in different wars. He thanked them,
but politely turned down their offers, holding steadfast to the belief that VA
should give him his own Purple Heart and he would accept nothing less than
that.
No matter who tried to intervene on his behalf, the VA could
not waive the rules in his case and his quest for the medal was futile. George
Nichols passed away in 2015 without receiving the Purple Heart and it broke my
heart to know that nothing could be done to help this genuine American hero
obtain what he justly deserved.
Therefore, the recent NPR story about the sailor rejecting his
medal was rather ironic when compared to that of George Nichols.
We should all be appreciative for the service of both these men and in my opinion, they both deserve the Purple Heart and our respect. <
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