thedrifter
06-21-08, 09:13 AM
Marine receives medal at long last
A Purple Heart for Vietnam hero
By Jonnelle Marte, Globe Correspondent | June 21, 2008
Gerald McCarthy was fighting in Vietnam in 1967 when a bullet pierced the head of the Marine next to him and lodged in McCarthy's forehead.
McCarthy, then a sergeant in the Marines, had the bullet removed, had his wound stitched up, and was back in combat within two days.
"Everything was flying there - artillery shells, bombs, everything," recalled McCarthy, 63, who suffered major head trauma from the injury and now requires daily assistance.
"Me and many friends of mine got a lot of men out," he said.
The Dorchester native served nearly 2 1/2 years in Vietnam and returned home in 1967 as a Purple Heart veteran, but he didn't have the medal to prove it - until now.
About 50 of McCarthy's friends and relatives gathered at Harp & Bard restaurant yesterday, where McCarthy used to have soda as a boy with his father and brother, to see the veteran receive his Purple Heart Medal.
McCarthy knew he received the Purple Heart when he retired from the Marines, but was not able to meet with his general to pick it up.
Betty Dew, an attorney and McCarthy's legal guardian, said she started writing letters to the Marines about McCarthy's Purple Heart four years ago. Officials confirmed that he had received the award but said she would have to buy the medal because they did not have any more to send, Dew said.
Then she contacted Senator Edward M. Kennedy's office, and after about a year, McCarthy got his award.
"America owes you a debt we can never repay," Kennedy said in a statement read by one of his aides at the ceremony.
"Your uncommon valor and the immense sacrifices you made for all of us are remembered and honored today by this award, and they will never be forgotten," the senator wrote.
Jonnelle Marte can be reached at jmarte@globe.com.
Ellie
A Purple Heart for Vietnam hero
By Jonnelle Marte, Globe Correspondent | June 21, 2008
Gerald McCarthy was fighting in Vietnam in 1967 when a bullet pierced the head of the Marine next to him and lodged in McCarthy's forehead.
McCarthy, then a sergeant in the Marines, had the bullet removed, had his wound stitched up, and was back in combat within two days.
"Everything was flying there - artillery shells, bombs, everything," recalled McCarthy, 63, who suffered major head trauma from the injury and now requires daily assistance.
"Me and many friends of mine got a lot of men out," he said.
The Dorchester native served nearly 2 1/2 years in Vietnam and returned home in 1967 as a Purple Heart veteran, but he didn't have the medal to prove it - until now.
About 50 of McCarthy's friends and relatives gathered at Harp & Bard restaurant yesterday, where McCarthy used to have soda as a boy with his father and brother, to see the veteran receive his Purple Heart Medal.
McCarthy knew he received the Purple Heart when he retired from the Marines, but was not able to meet with his general to pick it up.
Betty Dew, an attorney and McCarthy's legal guardian, said she started writing letters to the Marines about McCarthy's Purple Heart four years ago. Officials confirmed that he had received the award but said she would have to buy the medal because they did not have any more to send, Dew said.
Then she contacted Senator Edward M. Kennedy's office, and after about a year, McCarthy got his award.
"America owes you a debt we can never repay," Kennedy said in a statement read by one of his aides at the ceremony.
"Your uncommon valor and the immense sacrifices you made for all of us are remembered and honored today by this award, and they will never be forgotten," the senator wrote.
Jonnelle Marte can be reached at jmarte@globe.com.
Ellie