Purple Heart ceremony Friday for Fort Hood casualties

Posted 2015-04-09 18:45 by Grunt Report with 0 comments

On Friday, more than five years after a bullet shattered his right femur, Sgt. 1st Class Miguel Valdivia will receive the Purple Heart.

But Valdivia, who will be honored alongside 46 others who were killed or wounded in the deadly 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, is conflicted.

“It feels good, but at the same time I’m feeling numb,” said Valdivia, who was shot three times that day. “It’s a guilty feeling. I only got wounded. Deep inside, I feel I don’t deserve it.”

Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 wounded in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack by former Maj. Nidal Hasan.

Hasan was convicted in August 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder and sentenced to death.