OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:31 AM – Monday, October 7, 2024
A Vietnam veteran honored Donald Trump with a Purple Heart after explaining that he was greatly inspired by the former president’s response to the first assassination attempt on his life at the July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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“Since its origin during the Revolutionary War, the Purple Heart has served as a recognition of sacrifice and heroism by those in the U.S. military,” according to the Department of Defense (DOD).
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), the event’s moderator, read a letter from a veteran who was only identified as “Dwight.”
Dwight praised Trump for his courage and offered the Purple Heart medallion that he said he “received as a young Marine in Vietnam.”
Purple Hearts are also awarded to service members who have been wounded or killed in combat.
“Dear President Trump, watching you during the Butler rally, and you getting back up, both my wife and I gave a sigh of relief as well as a few tears,” Dwight wrote. “I would be honored if you would accept this small token I received as a young marine in Vietnam.”
“My wife and I both thought it appropriate. God bless you, your family, and the United States of America. Sincerely, Dwight,” he concluded.
Dwight was brought up on stage during a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he expressed his admiration for the former president.
“You took it. You laid down there. You got back. And the first words out of your mouth were ‘Fight, fight, fight,” Dwight stated, recounting Trump’s response to getting shot in the ear at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally in July which nearly took his life.
“I couldn’t think of anybody more deserving of a Purple Heart,” Dwight continued.
“You didn’t even have anything to shoot back at him. You got guts. It was a minor wound, but it was close to being a terrible one,” he added.
Trump responded, stating, “I got very lucky, and maybe it wasn’t so much luck. Maybe it is something else, right? Maybe there’s something else up there.”
Trump continued, calling the receival of Dwight’s Purple Heart “a great honor.”
Additionally, Dwight also revealed that Trump had sent him a “beautiful letter” in response and gifted him a Trump challenge coin as a “token” of his appreciation.
“I never expected that from the President of the United States,” he added.
The warm moment preceded a day before Trump returned to Butler, holding another massive rally at the same site where he came millimeters away from being killed.
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