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The Navy will hold a ceremony Thursday to posthumously award the Purple Heart to U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, who died following the July 16 attacks. The ceremony will be a private event for Smith’s family, according to a news release from the Navy. A spokeswoman for the Navy would not confirm the location of the ceremony. “Both before and after the attack on the Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga, the people of Chattanooga, southeast Tennessee and North Georgia have demonstrated a commitment and devotion to our sailors that is both extraordinary and very much appreciated. The support of this community, in fact, can be credited with helping make the awarding of the Purple Heart possible,” the Navy said in a statement.
Six months after the shootings on July 16 that left five service members dead in Chattanooga, 62 victims will receive portions of a National Compassion Fund that totals $467,335.13.
The fund is a program of the National Center for Victims of Crime, an organization that offered to administer the contributions put forward by community members in Chattanooga and across the nation.
In the wake of the attack, more than 556 donors contributed $140,289.48 directly to the National Compassion Fund, while a benefit concert held by Friends of the Festival on Sept. 16 brought in an additional $327,045.65 in donations.
Mickey McCamish, a retired U.S. Navy captain who served on a local steering committee charged with allocating the money, said this fund is different from others designed to help victims, such as the Heroes Fund and the Freedom Fund, because it is intended to serve immediate rather than long-term needs.
"It could meet any of the needs that the victims might have," he said. "It will be up to them to make that decision."
The families of the five service members who were killed will receive the lion's share, $331,490, or 71 percent of the total.
United States Marines carry the casket of U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. David Wyatt out of Hixson United Methodist Church after his funeral service Friday, July 24, 2015, in Hixson, Tenn. Staff Sgt. Wyatt was killed in the July, 16 shootings at the Naval Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway which left five dead, including shooter Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, and a Chattanooga police officer wounded."There's no way you can replace the loss that the families experienced and that our community experienced," McCamish said. "But this is a way that the community can share their gratitude to the victims."
Any person, other than the perpetrator and his family, who was killed, injured, or suffered psychological trauma directly from being on scene was eligible to apply for benefits. Two eligible claimants waived their benefits, according to a memorandum from the National Center for Victims of Crime.
The applications were reviewed by the organization and divided into four categories: loss of life, physical injury, level-two psychological trauma for those present during the attack, and level one psychological trauma for emergency responders. The steering committee then distributed the funds accordingly in each category.
Jeff Dion, deputy executive director for the organization, said it was their decision to include victims of psychological trauma because, regardless of whether or not they sustained physical injuries, those events are scarring and they wanted to show that "what these people experienced, mattered."
He said that in past mass-casualty shootings, such as the Sandy Hook or Fort Hood tragedies, individuals who were on scene but were not physically injured felt left out when no compensation was offered for their trauma.
"If you read the accounts, you can tell that people are going to be impacted by this," he said, "like the responders who listened to the cellphones of the victims that kept ringing from loved ones."
"They're haunted by that."
In addition to the funds going to the families of the fallen service members, $61,877 will go to three survivors who were physically injured, $45,968 will go to 26 claimants who were on scene and claimed psychological trauma, and $28,000 will go to 28 first responders who also claimed psychological trauma.
There are some who raise an eyebrow at the number of people who will be receiving benefits from the National Compassion Fund.
Keith Wheatley, a Marine who is also the property manager of the Lee Highway strip mall where the first shooting took place said that it is his strong opinion that "Every dime should go to the victims and the families of the victims only."
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.