Photo By Chief Warrant Officer Brandon Owen | (From left to right) Lt. Col. Kevin Stewart, commanding officer of Combat Logistics...... read more read more
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CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan - A Marine with Security Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 15 (Forward), 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward) was awarded the Purple Heart medal in a ceremony, Aug. 18.
Lance Cpl. Michael R. Douglass, 20, from Big Bear, Calif., was presented the medal by Brig. Gen. Charles L. Hudson, commanding general of 1st MLG (FWD). Douglass, a machine gunner, suffered a grade-three concussion when his vehicle rolled over an improvised explosive device while on a vehicle recovery mission in Sangin District, June 30.
Douglass was manning the MK-19 grenade launcher in the gun turret of his mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle when the IED exploded, knocking him unconscious.
“The next thing I know my driver was hitting me, yelling at me and asking if I was OK,” Douglass recalled. “I didn’t realize I was knocked unconscious until we got back to base.”
Douglass said he was surprised when his leadership informed him the day prior to the ceremony that he was receiving the medal.
“I didn’t expect anything from it,” said Douglass, whose grandfather and great-grandfather both served in the Navy.
Douglass deployed to Afghanistan in March in support of the International Security Assistance Force. He is scheduled to redeploy to his home base of Camp Pendleton, Calif., in October.
After the ceremony, Brig. Gen. Hudson spoke with Douglass about having to add the Purple Heart to his row of medals to pin on his Dress Blue uniform in time for the Marine Corps birthday ball in November.
“You have a lot of work to do,” the general joked, shaking the Marine’s hand.
Established by Gen. George Washington in 1782, the Purple Heart medal is the oldest medal awarded to U.S. Armed Forces personnel wounded or killed in combat.
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2010 06:06 |
| Story ID: | 54823 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 825 |
| Downloads: | 360 |
This work, Big Bear Marine awarded Purple Heart, by Jennifer Brofer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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