By Sara Wood
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/whqr/local-whqr-990208.mp3
Wilmington, NC – Tomorrow local veteran Jason Thigpen will be honored in a ceremony in Wilmington for receiving the Purple Heart. WHQR's Sara Wood reports that Thigpen, a sergeant with the North Carolina National Guard, is being honored for his service in Iraq in 2009.
On August 28, 2009, Thigpen's convoy was on its way back from an emergency recovery mission when their own vehicle hit an IED. An attack by insurgents followed and they engaged in a firefight. While the team sustained multiple wounds and injuries, everyone survived.
Thigpen says he doesn't think he deserves the award.
"There's so many other veterans that went through far worse than I did that don't have it. For me, getting the Purple Heart, I kind of look at it now as an opportunity to help support them, ensuring that they get the benefits they earn, sacrificed for and deserve it."
Along with serving as an advocate for veteran's education and health benefits, Thigpen is the junior vice commander with the Disabled American Veterans chapter in Wilmington and also a student at UNCW.
"If I got anything from my time in Iraq, it was realizing what's really important in our lives. And for me it's not me. And I think so many times before that it was more about me than other people."
The Purple Heart is given to members of the armed forces who are wounded in war. Representative Mike McIntyre will present Thigpen the award tomorrow at the Manley-Reece VFW on Carolina Beach Road.
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