By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Vietnam War veteran Larry Sudlow stood solemnly Wednesday evening as officials prepared to declare Bowling Green as a Purple Heart City.
Sudlow, of McClure, came home from the war with a Purple Heart.
“Our helicopter got hit by a rocket-propelled grenade,” he said.
It’s for Sudlow and those like him that Bowling Green Mayor Mike Aspacher sought the ranking from the military Order of the Purple Heart.
“I thought it was a worthwhile thing to do to honor the contributions of veterans,” the mayor said as people gathered at the veterans memorial in City Park.
The proclamation “confirms our commitment to honor those who serve and have served so faithfully in defense of our freedom as Americans, and gratefully acknowledges their sacrifices, bravery and unwavering commitment as patriots,” Aspacher said.
The Purple Heart originated in the American Revolution, first being awarded to veterans who served more than three years “with bravery, fidelity and good conduct” by General George Washington as a badge of merit.
Since that time, the Purple Heart has been awarded to servicemen and women for wounds received while in action against enemy combatants. It is estimated that 1.7 million veterans have been awarded the Purple Heart since World War I.
“This is to honor the sacrifice that was made on behalf of all of us,” Council President Mark Hollenbaugh said.
“This is for all those who have gone before us,” said Jerry Ferris, of the Purple Heart Department of the Ohio Honor Guard. “As we approach Memorial Day, we think about those who never made it back.”
Ferris and four other Vietnam veterans who had earned Purple Hearts traveled to Bowling Green for the ceremony.
“This medal – the Purple Heart medal – is not something we aspired to,” said Ferris, who came home from the war with three Purple Hearts.
“We didn’t get the welcome we felt we so deserved,” he said. But events like Bowling Green’s Purple Heart ceremony help. “The welcome home is received.”
Many Purple Heart medals were sent home to families when their loved ones could not return. Such is the case for a relative of Dave Ridenour, of Bowling Green. His mother’s first husband was lost when his ship was sunk in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.
“He’s still missing in action to this day,” Ridenour said.
At the end of the ceremony, echo Taps was played by Kate Tretter and Nolan Miller. And veterans shared words of fellowship.
“Welcome home, man,” local Vietnam veteran Steve Benner said to Ferris.
