Retired Marine, Marietta Native Awarded Purple Heart

by Senior Airman Elizabeth Gaston, 94th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, Dobbins Air Reserve Base

A retired Marine broadcaster and Marietta native received the Purple Heart on May 30 at the Navy Operations Support Center on Dobbins Air Reserve Base for a traumatic brain injury he received during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006.

Sgt. Monroe F. Seigle, 32, currently a senior at Kennesaw State University, was injured when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device near Haditha, Iraq.

A recent change in rules defining who is eligible to receive the Purple Heart have made servicemembers who have received traumatic brain injuries eligible for the medal, said Marine Capt. Jason Castillo, Headquarters and Services Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group executive officer.

Seigle was presented the medal by his uncle, retired Army Sgt. Jerry Ritchie, combat veteran assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam conflict.

I have mixed emotions, said Seigle. I had friends who were killed in action that received the same medal. It's not about me. I just want other veterans out there to realize that they have not been forgotten.

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