OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Some honors may go unnoticed, but the Purple Heart Honor Mission wants to recognize all the men and women who served and gave a big piece of their lives.
One of the ways it's doing so is through the National Purple Heart Patriot Project, a trip to New York where recipients get to see important sites, like the 9/11 Memorial or the Statue of Liberty, and see the Honor Hall.
"There's a lot of heroes that walk among us," said Col. Russ Vernon, the Executive Director of the National Purple Heart Honor Mission. "And Mike is just one of them who every day goes about his work, helping others."
It's an experience unlike any other, and one veteran from Oshkosh got to be a part of it. Mike Gawel served for eight years. During his tour in Afghanistan, he was injured and forced to retire.
"I shattered two vertebrae in my spine and fractured four others," said Gawel. "So I actually have metal rods and screws that go from my butt to my shoulders, and that's one thing not a lot of people understand. Not all injuries are visible. A lot of them are hidden, especially nowadays with PTSD, that's something that haunts a lot of people."
Gawel was chosen out of a stack of applications to represent Wisconsin at the Honor Hall this year, an honor that he says was humbling.
"I didn't know anyone had actually nominated me originally," said Gawel. "It was, I guess, very humbling is a great way to put it. There's a lot of very deserving folks that have Purple Hearts, and the fact that I was chosen is a great honor."
Col. Russ Vernon said the board read applications blind - no name or picture attached to them. What made Gawel stand out, Col. Vernon said, was his continued service to his community.
"They [the honorees] didn't go into a shell and just move on from leaving the military behind or their service behind," said Col. Vernon. "The nomination itself just stood out, what an amazing man... family man, he's got two children, and just how he has gone on and on with his life and has chosen to continue to serve others."
Col. Vernon also mentioned how special it was for other Purple Heart honorees to come together and speak about their struggles or even things they miss about touring. This, especially in our current climate with the U.S. pulling out from Afghanistan.
"A lot of them are questioning, 'What was it? What was it for?', So this really, I think, helped them," said Col. Vernon.
