Photo By Sgt. Anthony Sanchez | Lt. Gen. Sean Bernabe, the commanding general of III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos,...... read more read more
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — On the afternoon of the Dec. 5, 2010, outside of Forward Operating Base Lightning in Galdez, Afghanistan, Sgt. 1st Class James B. Welch, III Armored Corps, then a sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division, was rocked by an explosion as a suicide bomber disguised as an Afghanistan National Army Soldier detonated his bomb.
Through a concussion, later diagnosed as a traumatic brain injury, Welch persevered through the dissonance and began providing care to service members affected by the blast. He was later awarded the combat action badge for his conduct, but at the time, was unaware he also qualified for a Purple Heart.
“I was told two days before I began my PCS (permanent change of station) (from) the 101st (Airborne Division) that a brain injury actually qualified as a Purple Heart because that was a new thing at the time,” Welch said.
He then scrambled to submit a packet for the award, but complications lead to the packet being lost in its transfer.
Later, when Capt. Rosalie Bedoya, the III Armored Corps S-1, had Welch find his way to her desk in February 2023, she was shocked.
“When he first came to me, I was like, ‘oh no,’” Bedoya remarked. “Purple Heart packets are very complex, and they take a very long time to get approved, but I told him ‘I’m willing to work with you, I would never turn you away — especially on this one.’”
The two then embarked on tenuous administrative journey through the process of submitting a Purple Heart packet one last time, scavenging old records and locating witnesses from that fateful day in December, before finally getting a notification of approval almost one year in the process.
“First thing I did was text Sergeant 1st Class Welch … and it’s kind of funny,” Bedoya said. “He wanted me to just hand it to him and be on his way — you know how Army people are, they’re just like, ‘give it to me, I don’t want a ceremony.' I then told him, ‘I’m pretty sure the CG (commanding general) is going to want to do this. We don’t get a lot of Purple Hearts anymore.’”
Honoring his service as well as his perseverance, Lt. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe, III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos commanding general, personally pinned the Purple Heart on Welch’s uniform in a ceremony attended by fellow Soldiers, family and friends at the III Armored Corps headquarters at Fort Cavazos.
“If you were to hear his story … courage under fire, even after this event — which, frankly, rung his bell pretty good, he was mission focused, and he was focused on his teammates, making sure they were okay,” Bernabe said. “For all the right reasons, our Purple Heart award system — all of our awards, is a pretty stringent process. So much so that his last command, despite all the effort and all the energy just couldn’t get it done before he had to PCS to his next assignment.”
Bernabe then made sure to recognize Bedoya for her efforts in assisting Welch in his 14-year-long endeavor.
“Captain Bedoya is another hero here — an engaged and empathetic leader who, as she learned of this, that we have a Soldier who, 13 and a half years ago, earned a Purple Heart but had not yet been able to get through the administrative hurdles to get it justified and approved … well guess what — she jumped to the challenge,” Bernabe said.
Bedoya said this is something she’ll remember for a very long time.
“This is the first Purple Heart I’ve seen where I’ve submitted for it on behalf of the Soldier, and it’s actually been approved,” Bedoya said. “I’ll remember that for the rest of my career if not my life.”
Welch, adorned with a Purple Heart, now looks forward to his retirement in two months. Keeping true to his pragmatic nature, Welch plans to get a new job after retirement.
The Purple Heart is a military award which honors service members who have been killed or injured while protecting the nation, carrying with it a tradition that has been in the U.S. military since the days of the Continental Army.
Originally, it was called the Badge of Military Merit and was established by the commander-in-chief at the time, George Washington. After the Revolutionary War, the award laid in perpetuity before being formally revived by executive order on the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birthday on Feb. 22, 1932.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.21.2024 10:58 |
| Story ID: | 473490 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 1,357 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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