After 73 years and a long fight with the The American armyA Korean War veteran from Minnesota who was wounded in combat finally received his Purple Heart medal Friday.
The Army informed Earl Meyer, 96, of St. Pierre, last month that it had granted him a Purple heart, which pays tribute to soldiers wounded or killed in combat. Meyer, who still has shrapnel in his thigh that continues to cause occasional pain, had the medal pinned to his chest during a ceremony at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
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Afterward, Meyer recalled attending an earlier ceremony for veterans when Purple Heart recipients were asked to stand so they could be honored. Now, Meyer said, “I can stand up to these guys.”
Discreet and quick to deflect praise, he added: “It’s nice. There’s no doubt about it.”
Earl Meyer wears his freshly awarded Purple Heart medal for combat wounds he received while serving in the Korean War, Friday, May 17, 2024 in St. Peter, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
An Army review board had repeatedly rejected Meyer’s application due to a lack of documentation, but she reversed course after a campaign by her three daughters and their lawyer. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota also spoke on his behalf, alongside the service’s top noncommissioned officer, Army Staff Sgt. A federal judge ordered the review board to reexamine the situation.
Meyer’s case illustrates the difficulties wounded veterans face in obtaining the medals they have earned when the fog of war, lack of records and the passage of time make it difficult to produce evidence.
Klobuchar presented Meyer with a certificate after the medal was pinned, while one of his former aides who worked on the case sang the national anthem.
“Our safety is what Earl fought for. Minnesota, our country and our world are better because of you, Earl,” Klobuchar told the crowd. “Thank you. And congratulations. Finally.”
Meyer’s daughter, Sandy Baker, of New Buffalo, Mich., described veterans like her father, whom friends call “Sonny,” as “a different breed” and said he was reluctant to push for it. acknowledgement. She said he eventually became convinced that his efforts would help other soldiers gain recognition that was long overdue.
“He’s excited and he’s very honored. Incredibly honored. But he said at the coffee shop this morning, ‘I don’t know why we’re making a big deal out of this,'” she said.
Sgt. Army Maj. Michael Weimer was unable to attend, but he sent a final message of gratitude for Meyer’s “selfless service and dedication.” And in a handwritten addition at the bottom of the letter, Weimer said: “Thank you for not abandoning us! This should have been done long ago!”
Weimer sent Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Ross, Army National Guard, in his place. He described the grueling fights Meyer endured.
“He saw his close friends injured, killed in action, and he engaged in continuous, sustained combat with the enemy and warlike conditions for several days,” Ross said. “He believed and understood that he could actually die in combat.”
Few of the men from Meyer’s unit who witnessed the mortar attack in 1951 survived. Only a few members of his platoon escaped unscathed. At first, he didn’t even realize he had been injured. He said he believed the doctor who treated him on the battlefield was killed before he could fill out the paperwork. And anyway, he wasn’t thinking about a medal, he just wanted to survive.
When the Army denied Meyer’s first requests for a medal, it said his documentation was insufficient. It was burned in a fire, Meyer’s daughter Baker said.
Klobuchar’s office helped the family obtain additional documents, and an Army review board ultimately concluded last month that the new evidence “establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the petitioner was injured in combat early June 1951.
The council cited the records of Department of Veterans Affairs, where doctors concluded that the shrapnel in his thigh must have come from a combat injury. The committee also cited a recent memo from Weimer, who said he believed Meyer’s account was accurate and that his medal application merited further review.
Meyer’s American Legion coffee buddy, Dave Johnson, who gave the prayer, described Meyer as “beyond humble.” He said Meyer tends to downplay it and say, “Oh, that happened. I was part of it, and I guess I still have some shrapnel in me.”
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But Johnson said it’s important for the rest of the community to remember.
“People need to recognize what it takes to have a country like this, and it takes people like Sonny and his efforts and what he accomplished and what he did in those days. Very few people have this opportunity to say, ‘I did that.’ for our country.'”
