Henderson soldier receives Purple Heart from Army vice chief of staff

About a minute after being ejected from his Stryker vehicle after it ran over a 250-pound improvised explosive device buried deep in the Iraqi desert, Sgt. Wesley Linder awoke to the sounds of gunfire and lacerations on his face, legs and arms .

Almost three years later, after his paperwork was lost multiple times, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli pinned the Purple Heart upon Linder's Army uniform. The Purple Heart is presented to those who were wounded or killed during war.

"There is a notion the Purple Heart is an award," Chiarelli said. "It is not an award. It is an entitlement."

The pain in Linder's right arm, accompanied by headaches and bad memories, keeps the events of June 17, 2008, all too real.

The IED exploded. Linder went flying. He landed on his head and was knocked out .

"I came to, and we were under small-arms fire," Linder said.

His squad leader, who had lost several fingers, was unconscious.

Linder grabbed his squad leader, dragged him to safety, picked up a weapon and began defending the area until a medical evacuation team arrived.

"He protected his platoon while they were under attack," Amber Linder, Wes' wife, said proudly. "Finally, they evaluated how hurt Wes was, because he was hurt really bad. They then (medically evacuated) him, too."

Linder suffered trauma to the brain, nerve damage in his right arm and various cuts and lacerations all over his body.

What should have been a simple case of acknowledgement turned into an almost three-year ordeal.

"He got overlooked four times," Amber said.

Amber said his paperwork had been lost three or four times.

In September, a frustrated Amber sent letters to congressmen, senators, Army officials and eventually Chiarelli, sharing Linder's story and hoping to get a response.

The Linders moved to Henderson from Hawaii in January after Linder was medically retired. They continued to send out requests.

They never expected a four-star general to return their call . Chiarelli wanted to present the award personally to "right a wrong" since it had taken so long to get Linder his honor.

"I am just in awe," Linder said. "It is such an honor."

When Chiarelli contacted Linder, he asked where Linder would like to receive the award.

"We asked, 'Where does he usually do ceremonies like this?' " Amber said. "I was told he didn't normally do stuff like this."

Having Chiarelli come out was a great ending to the pursuit.

"I thought they would mail it since it had been so long," Amber said. "It is a huge culmination of everything we had been fighting for."

Since Linder had recently starting going to the Henderson Vet Center, 400 N. Stephanie St., they decided that would be the best place for the ceremony.

"We are honored he cho se the center," said Kelly Barron-Edwards, team leader with the center. "He could have chosen any place and chose us."

Linder's family attended the March 22 ceremony at which Chiarelli presented the Purple Heart .

"No commander wants to award a soldier a Purple Heart ," Chiarelli said. "It means that a soldier has been injured."

During the presentation, Chiarelli talked about the history of the Purple Heart , which was started by George Washington during the Revolutionary War and has about 2 million recipients to date.

"It is the longest-standing award of any country," Chiarelli said.

Even though the Purple Heart recognizes a soldier's physical injuries , Chiarelli reminded people about the psychological injuries soldiers have to deal with after returning home from war.

"After my father returned home from World War II, I asked him to tell me about it," Chiarelli said . "I even went as far as to buy him a journal. I told him while he was watching TV , he could sit there and write down what came to mind."

Chiarelli's father never did. It wasn't until years later that he realized it was because his father didn't want to remember.

"That is why places like (the Henderson) Vet Center are important," Chiarelli said.

In addition to getting medically treated, Linder is attending counseling sessions at the Henderson Vet Center to help deal with the psychological effects of war.

Linder also is trying to get medical treatment for residual injuries.

Because of another oversight, Linder wasn't able to receive medical services for two months after he was medically retired in December.

Linder said even though he retired in December, his Army identification showed he retired Feb. 7.

"We were at the clinic first thing Feb. 8, getting everything he needed," Amber said.

Linder said he just hopes to get everything taken care of so he can return to his life, which includes the birth of his first child in June .

Contact Henderson and Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 387-5201.