Chicopee Vietnam War veteran to be one of 50 to be honored by National Purple Heart Honor Mission
Updated Jan 03, 2021;
Posted Jan 03, 2021
John Hurley Jr. and his wife, Gail, at their home in Chicopee. (Hoang Leon Nguyen / The Republican)
Facebook Share
CHICOPEE Despite being injured twice in Vietnam, once so severely he was lucky to survive, John Hurley Jr. says he never regretted joining the U.S. Marine Corps even as it came during wartime.
Fifty years later and after decades of volunteering for multiple veterans’ organizations, Hurley is now one of the first people in the country to be recognized by the National Purple Heart Honor Mission at West Point.
By JEANETTE DEFORGE | masslive.com | Published: January 3, 2021 CHICOPEE, Mass. (Tribune News Service) Despite being injured twice in Vietnam, once so severely he was lucky to survive, John Hurley Jr. says he never regretted joining the U.S. Marine Corps even as it came during wartime. Fifty years later and after decades of volunteering for multiple veterans’ organizations, Hurley is now one of the first people in the country to be recognized by the National Purple Heart Honor Mission at West Point. On the road to his being awarded the Purple Heart and other honors, including the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, Hurley suffered a hearing loss, multiple shrapnel wounds and other injuries. When he returned home, he faced disdain from those who opposed the war and decades later found himself in therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dec 31, 2020
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Fred Bliss and his wife Dorothy Bliss tour the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where Fred Bliss was a member of the class of 1955. DONNA BLISS/Submitted
Donna Bliss says some of her earliest memories were with her father at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I was 3, 4 and 5 when he was stationed there, she said. That s how he met my mom. She was from New York City. They met by chance at West Point and were married three years later.
Bliss wants to honor her father, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Charles F. (Fred) Bliss III, for his 90th birthday. She scheduled a drive-by celebration for 2 p.m. Tuesday by Eastgate Village Healthcare Center. Vehicles are to gather at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday at Muskogee Seventh-day Adventist church parking lot.
The last days of 1863 found the men from Hawkins County regrouping in Dalton, Georgia. They begin building huts on the side of a ridge west of the town for winter quarters. The men needed this seasonal break to heal and rebuild their numbers.
The battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge had taken their toll. The 19th Tennessee only had roughly 100 men who were fit for duty. In fact, Gen. Otho Stralhâs entire brigade, which included the Hawkins Boys, was in bad shape.
To put it in more personal terms, Gen. Stralh put in a request for shoes for his brigade. At the start of the war, that would have been 5,500 pairs of shoes. In January of 1864, the general requested only 325.
GMC Prepâs Justin Wallace with his dad, Jerry.Â
GMC Prep School senior Justin Wallace was the main inspiration behind why his father, Jerry Wallace, decided to earn a college degree as a nontraditional adult student with the GMC Global Online College. Now itâs Justinâs turn to choose a university to attend to earn a degree.
Halfway through his senior year of high school, Justin already has impressive offers on the table. He has been accepted to attend the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Mercer University. He has also received a letter of assurance from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.