Purple Heart recipients honored at banquet
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on August 5, 2017 8:55 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
William Wright is greeted the end of the Walk of Honor before the annual Purple Heart Banquet and Ceremony Friday night at The First Church.
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Henry Harris Jr. smiles as he approaches the end of the Walk of Honor before the annual Purple Heart Banquet and Ceremony Friday night at The First Church.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Jack Hanley participates in the Walk of Honor before the annual Purple Heart Banquet and Ceremony Friday night at The First Church.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Kevin Hynes with the Military Order of the Purple Heart gives his keynote speech Friday during the annual Purple Heart Ceremony.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Flags representing every branch of the military are illuminated by sunlight Friday during the Purple Heart Banquet and Ceremony.
Arona Exum wiped away tears as the haunting melody of taps played in the background.
"My father passed away two years ago," she said. "So when you saw me crying it is because taps, that was the last thing before they laid him to rest."
Exum, a Fremont native, was among the nearly 400 people who gathered Friday night to pay tribute to veterans who, like her father, have received the Purple Heart.
Held at The First Church, the sixth annual Goldsboro/Wayne Purple Heart Foundation Banquet and Ceremony honored Goldsboro/Wayne area Purple Heart recipients along with their families, and the families of deceased Purple Heart recipients, with special recognition to those killed in action.
It was sponsored by the Goldsboro/Wayne Purple Heart Foundation.
The Purple Heart decoration, established by George Washington in 1782 as the Badge of Military Merit, is awarded to those who have been wounded or killed while serving with the U.S. military.
Exum's father served three tours with the Army in Vietnam and received his Purple Heart in 1969. Some of those honored Friday received two or even three Purple Hearts.
With the exception of last year, Exum has attended all of the banquets.
"I look forward to coming," she said. "Coming here is just awesome because you get to see the different recipients from the different branches (of service) and the different ages.
"It is just an awesome thing to see. I look forward to it each year. It is a great thing. A lot of them are from the Vietnam era so they were not looked upon as good people. So it is a great thing to have them honor all of them, and I am glad that they are doing it."
She said it felt "surreal" for her father to be honored and not be there, but that she was "really proud" to stand in his place.
While the crowd seemed to be a little smaller than in previous years, it was still a "good crowd," she said.
Exum said she is already looking forward to next year's banquet that will be held in the new Maxwell Regional Agricultural and Convention Center where many more people will be able to attend.
The Purple Heart recipients entered through a walk of honor under raised sabers.
Deceased recipients were represented by their families. Also recognized were Gold Star families where a family member was killed in action or is missing in action.
Also on display was a rendering of a Purple Heart monument that will be erected at the Wayne County Veterans Memorial downtown.
It will be dedicated Nov. 29 -- the anniversary of the local Purple Heart chapter 657.
The Goldsboro Police Department/Wayne County Sheriff's Office combined color guard presented the colors.
Some 80 volunteers worked the event including cadets representing all of Wayne County Public Schools' ROTC programs.
Wayne County Commission Chairman Bill Pate and Goldsboro Councilman Bill Broadaway presented a joint proclamation honoring Purple Heart recipients.
Kevin Hynes, adjutant, Military Order of the Purple Heart Department of North Carolina, was the keynote speaker.
Hynes, of New Bern, is an Air Force veteran, and received his Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam.
The Purple Heart is probably the county's most recognized, but least desired military medal, he said.
It has been estimated that more than 1.8 million have been awarded, and in North Carolina, the Military Order of the Purple Heart has more than 2,000 members in 10 chapters.
Its mission is to foster an environment of goodwill and camaraderie among combat wounded veterans, promote patriotism, support necessary legislative initiatives and most importantly, provide service to all veterans and their families, Hynes said.
Hynes said he was honored to be at the event.
Combat is not like the movies, he said.
"When you returned from combat, some of you enjoyed parades and big thank you's," he said. "Some came home to insults and jeers.
"Regardless of your return home, most of you do not talk about your combat experience. No mention of your pain, your suffering, your evacuation, your hospital stay or your rehab. Though we have healed, the fight still continues for many."
The fight includes health problems associated with military service -- all of the hidden scars that awaken veterans in the middle of the night, he said.
"Was it worth it?" he said.
To answer the question Hynes read a 2010 speech given by Vietnamese refugee Quang Nguyen, now a successful businessman in Prescott, Arizona.
"I believe this represents what many immigrants from all over the world think of your sacrifice," Hynes said.
In his comments Nguyen said he thanks God every morning for putting him and his family in the greatest country on earth.
He recalls as a 6-year-old child seeing American soldiers in Vietnam but being unable to imagine what it was like for them to be so far from home.
At age 13 Nguyen was among the first 100,000 Vietnamese allowed into the U.S. and talks about his struggles and his success to live the American dream.
"You see, America is not just a place on the map, it isn't just a physical location," Hynes said reading Nguyen's speech. "It is an ideal, a concept. And if you are an American, you must understand this concept, and most importantly, you have to fight and defend this concept. This is about freedom and not free stuff."
Nguyen said that before learning about the Constitution he had learned about the 500,000 Americans who had fought for him and the 58,000 who had died.
Nguyen called those Americans his heroes and founders.
"To all Vietnam veterans, I thank you for my life," Hynes read from Nguyen's comments. "I thank you for your sacrifices, and I thank you for giving me the freedom and liberty I have today.
"To all veterans, firefighters and police officers, on behalf of all first-generation immigrants, I thank you for your service, and may God bless you all."
Nguyen's speech says it all, Hynes said.