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The all day Halloween carnival featured booths, a costume contest, local bands and trick-or-treating. The family event was held at the Saline County Fairgrounds.
Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley prepared a speech for the moment he received the Purple Heart on Tuesday, but when the time came, he was at a loss for words.
"I completely lost everything when I got up there," he said afterward.
So he just said thanks as he accepted the Purple Heart award during a 9 a.m. ceremony at a downtown hotel. About 80 people attended, including military officials, family and friends.
"I was ready to go ahead and get everything over with," he said.
Cheeley was shot in the leg on July 16, 2015, when 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on a military recruiting center on Lee Highway. Cheeley and a handful of other Marines inside the storefront office fled out a back door and survived.
Abdulazeez then drove across town to the U.S. Naval and Marine Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway, where he again attacked. There, Abdulazeez killed four Marines and mortally wounded a U.S. Navy sailor.
All five of the men who died will also be awarded the Purple Heart, the Marine Corps announced in December. The three daughters of U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith accepted the award on his behalf on Jan. 14.
"I am proud to see the Marines receive what they rightfully deserve," said Staff Sgt. Robert Driver, the staff non-commissioned officer in charge of the office where Cheeley was shot.
Cheeley's family drove in from out of town - wife, daughter, parents, in-laws - and the top two Marine leaders of the East recruiting command also joined the event.
Cheeley said he was honored to accept the Purple Heart, and he hopes to wear the award as a way to remember and honor the men who died on July 16. Now, more than six months after the attack, he just wants to get back to work, to move on without forgetting those five men. He's aiming to sign up three new recruits this month.
"It's getting back to my day-to-day routine as a recruiter," he said. "When I say moving on without forgetting the Fallen Five, my job as a recruiter - maybe someday I can recruit the next Gunny [Thomas] Sullivan or Staff Sgt. [David] Wyatt."
Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas. Follow @ShellyBradbury.