Rushville, IL – A Rushville man has received his Purple Heart Medal forty years after he earned it in Viet Nam.
Former Mayor Ron Shepherd had the medal presented to him by west central Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood,
Shepherd was in an armored personnel carrier that triggered a mine. Shrapnel injured his face and knee. Shepherd said the injuries were treated, and he went back into combat.
He was with a unit that was charged with searching, then destroying North Vietnamese tunnel systems. He says the unit also destroyed buildings that could have harbored the Norh Vietnamese.
He says he did not want the medal at the time, but two friends from Rushville urged him to apply for it.
He says at first he was told the Army had lost his records to a fire in a government storage unit.
However, he contacted LaHood's office, and the missing paperwork was tracked down.
The medal for the Military Order of the Purple Heart is usually given for wounds suffered in combat.