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Wounded in Vietnam, local vet decorated 50 years later
PALISADE, Neb. — Dean Howard of Palisade was inducted into the Army on September 2, 1970. He was wounded in Vietnam on July 19, 1971. Nearly 53-years later, he was presented his Purple Heart at a small ceremony with family and friends at his home last Friday evening.
Dean’s daughter, DeAnn (Howard) Davis of Benkelman, started the process of trying to get the Federal Government to honor her father with the Purple Heart 14-years ago. She explained that she and her to sisters Jody (Howard) Crouse of Haigler and Mandy Howard of Hastings knew their Father fought in Vietnam, but he was careful to protect them from hearing the stories of what he experienced and how he was treated when he returned home. As time went by, and they grew older, Dean slowly opened up and shared his experiences from the war.
She said they heard stories of lifelong “brothers” that he served with and even met one of those heroes in person. He also told them of injuries he had sustained, and how he chose to stay and fight to protect his brothers rather than get airlifted out of the war zone. “I didn’t understand why he had not received a Purple Heart,” said DeAnn. “ He deserved it, was injured in battle, and risked his life for others and our country.” She explained that she spoke to her Mom, Mary Jo (DeWester), about her feelings and they decided that she should take on the pursuit to try and get dad his Purple Heart.
That was 14-years ago and DeAnn says it was a journey of hopes, disappointments, and then finally the “greatest gift” she was honored with delivering to her Dad.
Dean was wounded during a military operation in which he was serving as a Rifleman with Company A, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry, 23rd Infantry Division. On, July 19, 1971 his unit was involved in a search and clear operation when they were ambushed by an enemy force. The M60 gunner was hit in the hip. Dean bandaged him up and took his position at the machine gun. According to DeAnn, her Father stood up on a rice paddy dike, fired and gave cover in battle. “This is when he felt a burning sensation in his neck, but refused to get treated and leave his men behind,”she said. “He was bandaged up, and returned to his platoon.
There were other soldiers who were injured far worse than he was. My dad is an honorable man and couldn’t leave his platoon behind.” For his actions in this battle, he received the Army Commendation Medal of Valor. In a separate incident, he received lacerations from a machete to his left hand and fingers. DeAnn said there is documentation in his Service Treatment Records of the stitches being removed, but not of the wound treatment.
She started the work of getting her Father’s Purple Heart by writing to then U.S. Senator Ben Nelson in 2009. Nelson’s staff did some research into Dean’s service record. However, DeAnn said there was no mention of her Dad’s name among the list of battle casualties in the historical casualty records for the Vietnam era. Therefore, a Purple Heart could not be authorized.
She said The Army recommended they contact the National Personnel Records Center in order to obtain the unit morning reports. “I sent the signed paperwork, along with a letter that contained the pertinent information. Once again, there was no documentation of injuries being treated.” One requirement to receive the Purple Heart is that there must be verifiable proof that the injury was treated. This was the second denial. DeAnn said she was discouraged and gave up.
In 2015 She decided to try again. She contacted the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH). They requested a “Buddy Statement” and all treatment records. She sent them an eye witness account from Platoon Sergeant Dennis Gutman, along with medical records, rating decisions, everything she had. “I thought for sure they couldn’t deny him this time,” said DeAnn. “ I had a medical record that stated shrapnel was removed from Dad’s neck.” She received a letter back that said to be patient, that it would take the board about a year to come to a decision. “I never heard back from them, I was heartbroken,” she said. “I had to tell my Dad for the third time that he was denied.”
Once again DeAnn felt there was nothing more she could do. Then in 2023, DeAnn and her Mom decided to give it one more try, but they weren’t going to tell Dean because he had been disappointed enough and they didn’t want to put him through that again. On August 13, 2023 DeAnn wrote the Awards and Decorations Branch in Fort Knox, KY. Her Mom found a list of the required information that needed to be sent. DeAnn sat down and poured her heart into yet one last letter and sent a copy of every document they had.
They waited and months went by and nothing. She figured that meant he was denied again. Then on March 27 she got a phone call from the Awards and Decorations Branch. The person calling had one question, if there was any documentation of treatment at the time of the incident. “I told her no,” said DeAnn. “She then said thank you and hung up. I just sat there hanging my head. I knew that was it. Once again, because of the lack of documentation in the Vietnam War, my Dad would be denied yet again. My heart broke, and I knew that was the end of my pursuit.”
About a month later, on April 15, DeAnn’s husband Tim came in the front door of their Benkelman home and had a package in his hand. He said it was from the Army and that it was just sitting on their front porch. She opened the envelope and pulled out a green folder. There was a Department of the Army stamp on the cover. “There’s no way this could be it,” she said. “I opened the folder to see the symbol of the Purple Heart. I just doubled over in tears, and kept repeating, ‘he got it, he finally got it’.” Fourteen-years of emotions just rolled out of her eyes. “I read the certificate over and over again to make sure that my dad’s name was really on it,” she explained. “There it was, in writing, The president of the United States of America has awarded a Purple Heart to Dean E. Howard.”
They headed straight to Palisade. “Dad had waited long enough to get this, I wasn’t going to make him wait any longer.” We walked in the back door and asked Mom and Dad to come to the table. We just said we needed to talk to them. “I was fighting back tears and trying not to be too emotional, I took the certificate out and looked at my dad and said, It is my honor to be able to give you this dad.” He looked at me and he couldn’t believe it. I heard my Mom gasp, as my Dad took it and opened it. “This was a moment that I had hoped and prayed for years,” DeAnn said.
“I took out my phone and asked if we could Facetime the sisters. I wanted to give Dad the gift of sharing this with his daughters.
The actual Purple Heart medal didn’t arrive until a few weeks ago. The family hosted a small gathering that involved the Army officially presenting Dean with the Purple Heart last Friday evening.