On Friday veteran from Ohio received their well-deserved military awards — after almost half a century since his service in Vietnam.
Among 6 other awards staff Sergeant Timothy Shelton (70 years) received the medal of «Purple heart». The award ceremony was held by Senator Rob Portman.
Because of clerical errors made after the departure of Shelton resigned from the U.S. army in 1971, his merits remained unmarked for almost 50 years. In Vietnam Shelton was injured, but the office clerk in charge of processing data found no evidence of this. Instead of having to defend his innocence, Timothy decided to leave it as is and not to talk about it. Shelton didn’t expect the error in his record, will ever be fixed.
When Staff Sergeant Shelton reached out to our office, we discovered not only was he eligible for the #PurpleHeart, but also the Vietnam Service Medal w/ three Bronze Service Stars as well as the Combat Infantryman Badge. I was honored to present them to him today. pic.twitter.com/OoKeqO6rXr
— Rob Portman (@senrobportman) May 10, 2019
Shelton joined the ranks of volunteers in 1968, because the labour market was very small sentences. Stars and Stripes reports that he was wounded in may of 1968, when during a patrol in the Chu Lai exploded land mine. Gap mines injured 6 people from his unit and killed one of them. The shrapnel from a mine hit the man in the chest. He survived and was transferred to a safe place, later returned to active combat and served until retiring in 1969. After Vietnam he served as a Sergeant drill instructor at the military base Fort Leonardwood in Missouri.
According to Stars and Stripes, to reward a man has led a series of events that began with the fact that Shelton needed help with the payment for disability, so he went to the office of Portman. He was given a DVD of his military record, where it was noted his injury. In addition, they gave Shelton the evidence injuries that he needed to get «Purple heart».
I was honored to present the #PurpleHeart medal as well as other service medals to Staff Sergeant Timothy Shelton for his service in the Vietnam War. It was long overdue & I’m proud my office was able to assist. pic.twitter.com/5dSCqOLSXI
— Rob Portman (@senrobportman) May 10, 2019
At the ceremony, Portman said: «He served his country in Vietnam. He served honorably, did their duty and earned the Purple heart».
Before the ceremony, the veteran said, «I don’t think I need to reward. The guys who deserve awards, not back home.»
After the ceremony, he realized how important was this moment for him. Shelton said, «Everything that was done today, it is a great honor for me.»
