News Stories Archive

Ten Marine veterans received awards at Hadnot Point parade ground Saturday morning as a result of performances in engagements in the Pacific theater of war. Eight received Gold Stars in lieu of a second Purple Heart, one received a Bronze Medal heroic and meritorious performance of duty and one received a Purple Heart. The presentations were made by Lt. Col. T. M. Sheffield, Infantry Training Regiment, and Maj. L. G. Ditta, Infantry Schools Battalion, prior to a “pass in review” of men serving in the Officer Candidate Applicants’ Battalion. Shown in above photo, left to right, are Lt. Col. Sheffield, Maj. Ditta, Sgt. Lawrence Gerkin, Platoon Sgt. Robert Levy, Sgt. Robert Sadler, Sgt. Harry Smith, Sgt. Louis Cozzens, Sgt. Herbert Meza, and Cpl. Calvin Lawson, Cpl. Robert Heard, Cpl. William Hinkle and Cpl. Robert Radish. - Ten Marine veterans received awards at Hadnot Point parade ground Saturday morning as a result of performances in engagements in the Pacific theater of war. Eight received Gold Stars in lieu of a second Purple Heart, one received a Bronze Medal heroic and meritorious performance of duty and one received a Purple Heart. The presentations were made by Lt. Col. T. M. Sheffield, Infantry Training Regiment, and Maj. L. G. Ditta, Infantry Schools Battalion, prior to a “pass in review” of men serving in the Officer Candidate Applicants’ Battalion. Shown in above photo, left to right, are Lt. Col. Sheffield, Maj. Ditta, Sgt. Lawrence Gerkin, Platoon Sgt. Robert Levy, Sgt. Robert Sadler, Sgt. Harry Smith, Sgt. Louis Cozzens, Sgt. Herbert Meza, and Cpl. Calvin Lawson, Cpl. Robert Heard, Cpl. William Hinkle and Cpl. Robert Radish.

Sergeant Sara McGaffee, a Sioux Falls, S.D., native, poses for a photo with her friends and family after the Marines of Recruiting Sub Station Sioux Falls presented her with the Purple Heart Medal. On Oct. 20th, 2010, while deployed with Combat Logistics Battalion 3, McGaffee’s vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device while conducting convoy operations in support of Operation Steel Dawn II in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. McGaffee was awarded her Purple Heart, Dec. 16, 2017 in Sioux Falls, S.D., in front of a detail of Marines and her local friends and family. - Sergeant Sara McGaffee, a Sioux Falls, S.D., native, poses for a photo with her friends and family after the Marines of Recruiting Sub Station Sioux Falls presented her with the Purple Heart Medal. On Oct. 20th, 2010, while deployed with Combat Logistics Battalion 3, McGaffee’s vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device while conducting convoy operations in support of Operation Steel Dawn II in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. McGaffee was awarded her Purple Heart, Dec. 16, 2017 in Sioux Falls, S.D., in front of a detail of Marines and her local friends and family.

The families of Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist, and Lance Cpl. Squire Wells, are presented the Purple Heart honoring the Marines sacrifice, at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tenn., April 20, 2016. The Marines were honored for giving their lives to protect others when they were attacked by a gunman at the Naval Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Chattanooga on July 16, 2015. - The families of Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist, and Lance Cpl. Squire Wells, are presented the Purple Heart honoring the Marines sacrifice, at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tenn., April 20, 2016. The Marines were honored for giving their lives to protect others when they were attacked by a gunman at the Naval Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Chattanooga on July 16, 2015.

Sgt. DeMonte R. Cheeley is presented the Purple Heart medal by Brig. Gen. Terry V. Williams Jan. 26, 2015, at a ceremony in Chattanooga, Tenn. Cheeley received the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained during a July 16, 2015 attack in Chattanooga at the Armed Forces Career Center where he works. An investigation conducted by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service determined the attack had been inspired by a foreign terrorist group making Cheeley eligible for the Purple Heart. Cheeley is a Recruiting Substation Chattanooga recruiter in Chattanooga, Tenn. Williams is the Commanding General of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Eastern Recruiting Region. - Sgt. DeMonte R. Cheeley is presented the Purple Heart medal by Brig. Gen. Terry V. Williams Jan. 26, 2015, at a ceremony in Chattanooga, Tenn. Cheeley received the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained during a July 16, 2015 attack in Chattanooga at the Armed Forces Career Center where he works. An investigation conducted by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service determined the attack had been inspired by a foreign terrorist group making Cheeley eligible for the Purple Heart. Cheeley is a Recruiting Substation Chattanooga recruiter in Chattanooga, Tenn. Williams is the Commanding General of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Eastern Recruiting Region.