Governor Greg Abbott today presented the Texas Purple Heart at the Brooke Medical Center to four members of the United States Military. Specialist James Burkett of San Antonio, Private First Class Jose Romo of Pasadena, Staff Sergeant Guadalupe Chapa of Corpus Christi and Sergeant Michael Cantu, of Uvalde were injured by an IED blast while serving on the Multinational Force and Observers Mission in the Sinai Peninsula on September 3rd, 2015. They were members of A Troop, 1-112 Cavalry Squadron, 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard. All of the service members involved sustained non-life threatening injuries.
“It is my humbling privilege to award the Texas Purple Heart to four soldiers who have so bravely served and defended our nation,” said Governor Abbott. “These valiant warriors, like the generations before them, have fought and bled for our nation, our values and our freedoms, and we are eternally grateful for the sacrifices they have made. On behalf of the State of Texas, I express my sincerest gratitude to these soldiers and to all of the brave men and women who have served our country, worn the uniform with honor and who have courageously placed themselves in harm’s way on our behalf.”
The Texas Purple Heart Medal is awarded to any member of the State Military Forces of Texas after 11 September 2001, who was inducted into federal service from the Texas Military Forces, and meets the criteria for an award of the Federal Purple Heart Medal. All four Soldiers were awarded the Federal Purple Heart before returning to the United States.
The Federal Purple Heart can be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after April 5, 1917, has been wounded or killed. Specific examples of services which warrant the Purple Heart include any action against an enemy of the United States; any action with an opposing armed force of a foreign country in which the Armed Forces of the United States are or have been engaged; while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party; as a result of an act of any such enemy of opposing armed forces; or as the result of an act of any hostile foreign force. After 28 March 1973, as a result of military operations while serving outside the territory of the United States as part of a peacekeeping force.