Purple Hearts awarded to survivors and relatives of the dead at Fort Hood ceremony
Eric Jackson took a bullet in the forearm during the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. military base, and returned to Fort Hood five years later with other survivors Friday to receive Purple Heart medals.
Some smiled over an honor they felt was overdue, but also clenched their teeth over needs in their scarred and injured lives they say the Army has denied.
"I try not to be bitter. But it's kind of hard not to be bitter," said Jackson, a former staff sergeant. "You wonder, where's the respect? Where's the recognition? Where's the support for what you've gone through and what you're continuously going through?"
Thirteen people were killed and 31 were injured in the 2009 attack carried out by an Army psychiatrist who is now on military death row. Following years of tension, the Army gave the Purple Hearts to survivors and relatives of the dead in a somber ceremony on the Texas military post, just two miles from where Nidal Hasan had opened fire in a room of unarmed soldiers.
Top military commanders recalled tables that became makeshift stretchers to transport the wounded and dying. Ten of the survivors remain on active duty.
"It is our sincere hope that in some small way this will help heal the wounds you have suffered," Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland said.
But words of gratitude from military leaders and elected officials, including Republican Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, gave way to medal recipients pressing and chastising the Pentagon over combat benefits. The Purple Heart, given to military personnel wounded in battle, offers increased retirement pay.
Cornyn said he expects Fort Hood victims to finally get approved for entitlements within weeks, noting that he spoke to Army Secretary John McHugh before the ceremony. (AP)
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