Vietnam vet awarded Purple Heart in surprise ceremony

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Jim DePersia (right) of Cedar Lake gets a hug from VFW Post 802 Cmdr. Tom Cooper after receiving his Purple Heart medal.

Forty years ago, while fighting in Cambodia, Chicagoan Jim DePersia was hit by a bullet that pierced his shoulder, lung and shattered a vertebra before exiting his lower back.

It just missed his heart -- and DePersia kept fighting.

But DePersia, who is now 61 and lives in Cedar Lake in Northeast Indiana, never received a coveted Purple Heart, which honors soldiers wounded or killed in action -- until Thursday night.

"It's special when you wait 40 years for it," he said. "I think it's more valuable and more meaningful now."

DePersia served in the 1st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War. After the injury, he spent five months in the hospital.

In 1970, he did receive the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star for valor.

But it wasn't until 10 months ago that he filled out the application for the Purple Heart, and he said he hadn't heard whether the military would award one to him so many years later.

On Thursday night, at a Christmas party for the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 17, he learned that he indeed had been granted the award from chapter Cmdr. Tom Cooper.

"Tom didn't say a word" before the surprise ceremony, DePersia said. "I told the guys as I was walking up there that I hope it's not another court martial."

Since DePersia's medal -- complete with his name inscribed and a profile of George Washington -- hadn't arrived yet, Cooper loaned DePersia his own Purple Heart for Thursday's ceremony.

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