Son awarded Purple Heart
TWENTYNINE PALMS, California -- The son of a McCook, Nebraska, couple has received the Purple Heart medal for injuries he received in action in December 2010 in Afghanistan.
U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant Victor J. Purvis of Twentynine Palms, California, received the Purple Heart awarded to him by President Barack Obama for wounds received in action on Dec. 1, 2010, in Afghanistan, and presented to him by the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps on Feb. 13, 2012.
Purvis is the son of Teresa and Robert Purvis of McCook and a 1982 graduate of Grand Island, Nebraska, Central Catholic High School.
Purvis was injured during Operation Lone Ranger when he and fellow members of his unit recovered a vehicle damaged by a roadside bomb. As Purvis exited his own vehicle, a second explosive charge detonated, wounding him and fellow Marines.
A citation in late 2011 from Lt. General T.D. Waldhauser, commander U.S. Marine Corps Force, stated that "Before receiving medical attention, (Purvis) continued to focus on the mission."
Purvis has received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service from Oct. 12, 2010, to May 22, 2011, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.