From: Patton, Vince
Vince.Patton@Monster.com
Sent: Thu, Feb 3, 2011 4:04 pm
Subject: FW: Purple Heart recipients of Vietnam and WWII
Dear CG National
Retiree Council Members
HSCS
Michael Aviles of the Health Services Work Life (HSWL) Service Center embarked
on a project to capture the names of all Coast Guard Purple Heart recipients of
WWII and Vietnam wars for the purpose of National Purple Heart Hall of Honor (www.thepurpleheart.com).
(see below forwarded email thread for background
information)
We're
reaching out to various sources including CG National Retiree Council, Fred's
Place' and the Coast Guard Combat Veterans Association among other to assist in
getting the word out looking for Coast Guardsmen who have earned the Purple
Heart during service in WWII and Vietnam.
They're looking exclusively for Coast Guardsmen who
have earned the Purple Heart during Coast Guard service (not from prior military
service other than Coast Guard).
Please
pass the word through your network in hope to capture an exhaustive list of
Coast Guard Purple Heart recipients.
Individuals can contact HSCS Aviles at
michael.a.aviles2@uscg.mil,
with copy to the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian, Dr. William Thiesen at
William.H.Thiesen@uscg.mil.
Thanks &
SEMPER PARATUS!
Vince
-----Original Message-----
From:
William.H.Thiesen@uscg.mil
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 2:23 PM
To:
swiftie1@msn.com; Patton,
Vince; Siegel, Fred
Subject: FW: Purple Heart recipients of Vietnam and WWII
Importance: High
Vince, Fred and Ed:
Senior Chief Aviles has taken it upon himself to compile
the list of all Coasties that have ever received the PHM. This is a lot of hard
work and I'm wondering if you can assist him through your connections, the web
site and Combat Veterans Association connections. Not only would he be able to
provide the Purple Heart Hall of Honor with a list far more complete than just
DC1 Bruckenthal, but the list would also be a valuable addition to the USCG
Historian's Web Site and, perhaps, a variety of others. I'm thinking that we may
be able to get other PHM recipients to report in if we spread the word, so that
HSCS Aviles can compile as complete a list as possible.
Let me know if you think you could spread the word or
somehow let veterans know about this project. I think it's a very worthy way to
recognize the sacrifices made by the service's veterans.
Thanks,
-----Original Message-----
From: Aviles, Michael HSCS
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 2:05 PM
To: Thiesen, William PhD
Subject: Purple Heart recipients of Vietnam and WWII
Dr. Thiesen,
Thank you so much for your assistance today. As I
mentioned, I have chosen to take on this project because I want to preserve the
individual sacrifices of
these Guardians. And what better place than the National Purple Heart Hall of
Honor (
www.thepurpleheart.com ).
My brother in Law took we there and as I was walking around the exhibits I began
to realize that the CG was not represented.
Especially when I looked in the Hall of Honor database and
found only one CG name (Nathan Bruckenthal). I
became conscious of the fact that part of our
history is being lost. So I began researching and have compiled (what I believe)
an accurate list of CG members who received the Purple Heart Medal (PHM) during
Vietnam. I'm now working on WWII & I recognize that this endeavor will become
overwhelming for just one person. There are at least 1917 CG members that may
have received the PHM.
If I can pass on to you the list of names (work in
progress) over time we can begin to verify or at least put the word out for
assistance along your network would be greatly appreciated.
Documentation will be the key to ensure we create an
accurate account of our History to load onto this database.
Michael Aviles, HSCS
US Dept of Homeland Security
US Coast Guard
Health Services Work Life (HSWL) Service Center (SERVCEN)