Wilkersons named 'Purple Heart Family' by order
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on April 2, 2017 12:25 AM
Full SizeWhen Syl Wilkerson received his Purple Heart in 1966, he never knew how much it would mean to his family.
As an Army special forces operative, Wilkerson was frequently away from his family for weeks at a time, leaving them with little to no information on where he was or what he was doing. Often, his family didn't know if he was alive or dead at any given moment.
Now, more than 50 years later, Wilkerson's family is being recognized by the Military Order of the Purple Heart as the first-ever "Purple Family." Every single member of his immediate family joined the organization with him.
The Purple Family concept is part of the organization's "Purple Trail" program, which recognizes places and organizations of significance to Purple Heart recipients. To join the MOPH, one must either be a recipient of the award or the recipient's spouse, child, sibling or parent.
Wilkerson is the commander of the Goldsboro chapter. His wife, two sisters and all 11 of his children have joined the MOPH with him, out of what Wilkerson said is gratitude for his safe return.
"I was in intelligence and my unit was compromised, so they had to get me out, and they shipped me from Germany to Vietnam and left my wife in Germany," he said. "They had to move the family as well, and so once day she saw the military cars pull up in front of the house. She wouldn't let them in."
Mrs. Wilkerson thought Wilkerson had died.
When she did let the men in, it turned out they were only there to make sure the family's move went smoothly.
Wilkerson said he did not realize at the time what his family was going through without him. He went to Vietnam four times, once for an entire year, with little to no communication with his wife or children. There were no cell phones back then. By the time Wilkerson got a letter, it would be weeks old.
While Wilkerson returned each time, other families did not have such happy endings. Wilkerson said that, because of the classified nature of his missions, many people may never know what happened to their loved ones who did not return.
When Wilkerson joined the MOPH years later, his family was instantly enthusiastic about joining with him. Wilkerson said he'd never thought his award meant so much to them.
"There were 58,000 people killed in Vietnam. Our families, they're just glad to have us back," he said. "I didn't realize my family thought so much of me having a Purple Heart. It's not a medal you want to get."
After his family registered, Wilkerson sent a request to the state commander of the MOPH to have his family recognized as the first Purple Family. To his knowledge, his is the only family where every member has joined the organization.
The request was accepted, and on March 18, the Wilkerson family was formally recognized at the chapter level in Goldsboro. The family will be further recognized at the regional level on April 22, and at the state level in May.
This will culminate in August, when the family will travel to Dallas, Texas, to be recognized at the national MOPH convention.
Wilkerson hopes to expand the organization in Goldsboro, where he said many people do not know of it. The MOPH supports veterans associations around Wayne County and beyond with their time, resources and fundraising.