CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Dewell Glen Tolbert received a Purple Heart from the U.S. Army today for wounds he received in Vietnam.
Tolbert was part of an infantry platoon on patrol in Binh Dinh Province in 1966 when a mine exploded, injuring several soldiers. One soldier died during an evacuation helicopter ride. Tolbert was treated and return to his combat unit two days later.
“Those guys were the same as me,” he said during the ceremony at the Bradley County Veterans Affairs Office. “I just wanted to be where my friends were. I love my country. It doesn’t owe me a thing.”
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Randall Higgins covers news in Cleveland, Tenn., for the Times Free Press. He started work with the Chattanooga Times in 1977 and joined the staff of the Chattanooga Times Free Press when the Free Press and Times merged in 1999. Randall has covered Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Alabama. He now covers Cleveland and Bradley County and the neighboring region. Randall is a Cleveland native. He has bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Technological University. His awards ...
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CLEVELAND, Tenn. — A Vietnam veteran received his Purple Heart on Monday for wounds he suffered in 1966.
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