Ohio veteran awarded military honors 50 years after service due to bureaucratic error
Timothy Shelton, 70, was given the Purple Heart among six other awards in a ceremony presented by Senator Rob Portman. (Fox 19)
50 years is a long wait, but after a records review for a completely different matter, the evidence was there. A slew of awards for his service in Viet Nam came to light, never received. With the aid of Senator Rob Portman, (R-Ohio), the error was corrected.
A young Shelton poses for a photo in front of the American flag. He served in Vietnam from 1968-1969. (Fox 19)
By David Aaro
An Ohio veteran was given numerous military awards on Friday, nearly 50 years after he served in the Vietnam War.Staff Sgt. Timothy Shelton, 70, received the Purple Heart among six other awards in a ceremony presented by Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican.
It took almost 50 years because of a clerical error made after he was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1971. Shelton had been injured in Vietnam, but the clerk who processed his information found no evidence he had been wounded. Instead of pushing back, he decided to leave and not speak of it again, according to Stars and Stripes.
“I said the hell with it, and came home,” Shelton said. He never expected his military record would be changed.
According to Stars and Stripes, the series of events leading to the ceremony began when he needed help regarding a disability claim, so he reached out to Portman’s office for help.
They gave him a DVD of his military record, which showed he had been wounded.
It also gave Shelton the evidence needed to prove he was wounded in Vietnam, a necessary requirement for being awarded a purple heart.
Purpleheart.org defines the criteria for the award as “members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy.”
In 1968, Shelton decided to enlist in the Army after a weak job market. Stars and Stripes reported he was wounded in May 1968 when a land mine exploded during a patrol in Chu Lai, injuring six of his platoon members and killing one.
The explosion launched shrapnel into his chest. He survived and was airlifted to safety, eventually returning to active duty before leaving in 1969. After Vietnam, he served as a drill sergeant for basic training at Fort Leonardwood in Missouri.
Read the rest of the article here: Fox News
Category: Army, Feel Good Stories
“I said the hell with it, and came home,” Shelton said. He never expected his military record would be changed.
And yet we have posers that would claim this mans valor in a heartbeat.
There’s more. I highly recommend clicking the link and reading the entire article. The typical ‘humble hero’ comes through once again.
^THIS^
Glad to see he got some hardware he earned. How many others never got some of that stuff?
About 10 years ago I sent off for a DD215, tellin’ them that since I’d been an 11Bravo with the 9thID and received a PH, I thought that I’d probably qualified for a CIB.Tthe reply letter said that normally such things were only done within a year of separation but in the interest of fairness it was added to my records. They even sent me the hardware and ribbon, along with a duplicate PH. My medical records indicate that I’d been at 36th Evac Hospital and PH was awarded at that facility. Hell, I was kinda out of it but I remember that a General was walkin’ through the ward, givin’ ’em out at ‘most every bed. That might’ve been while Westmoreland was CG of the 9th, so I could’ve gotten it from him. I do remember layin’ there and salutin’ whoever it was. Too bad Mr. Shelton had to wait so long for his.
BTW, even while I was still in I wore a CIB that I’d bought for myself while stationed on Okinawa for the rest of my tour. They stuck me in the 30th Arty but since I wore the Psychedelic Cookie on my right shoulder and everybody in the unit knew I’d come there from Viet of the Nam, I don’t think anyone ever looked at my file any further than seein’ the PH and the fact that I carried an Infantry MOS. That probably saved my butt more than once, since I was a pretty slack troop. Lots of the officers and noncoms kept tryin’ to get a transfer to where the fun was but I’d already been there.
“I don’t think I need to be recognized…. This isn’t about me. The guys that need the credit didn’t come home.” Very typical of the DIs I had at Ft Knox in ’71. All of them were Combat Vets from WWII thru Nam. Pounding the hard learned lessons into our heads so we would come home.
BZ Former SSG Timothy Shelton for your service. And BZ to the congress critter who got it fixed.
And BTW, phuque a bunch of lying, embellishing POS valor thieves. I’ve heard a number of them say a clerical error caused the lack of records and bling orders. They blame that more than “the fire.”
How many posers seeing this will claim that they, too, were there and were wounded but also did not receive their PH? Bank on it.
I read this article earlier. Glad the record was corrected for him. Very humble man.
I am surprised a drill sergeant would ETS without an accurate DD-214. Though I suppose that shows the atmosphere of the service in the early 70’s and the lack of support among the civilians.
Pretty much he had zero awards on his DD214 when he got out. Not even a NDSM or Marksmanship badge, something everyone that graduated bootcamp would have.
His admin was a clusterfuck.