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A heart worth waiting for: Airman receives Purple Heart 8 years after injuries

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Anna-Marie Wyant
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Editor's note: The following is the second of a two part series about Tech. Sgt. Kellen Grogan, 920th Rescue Wing Security Forces, and his journey toward earning a Purple Heart.

Upon returning home from his deployment, Tech. Sgt. Kellen Grogan didn't know what to tell his parents. He had survived an improvised explosive device detonating underneath his Humvee, and besides suffering a concussion, he was pretty much left unscathed--or so he thought.

Grogan, who had just completed a six-month tour in Iraq, was excited to visit his family, but he had been keeping a secret. Months earlier he was knocked unconscious during the potentially fatal IED incident, and he had not yet told his parents. He told his sister while he was still deployed, but she promised not to tell their mom and dad. He knew he should tell them, but he didn't know when or how. After a couple days, he couldn't keep the secret any longer.

"I got blown up," Grogan recalled blurting out to his parents. "I said it just like that."

Little did Grogan know, his sister had already spilled the beans.

"My dad said mom cried a lot; she wasn't happy about it," Grogan said. "But they didn't want to stress me out letting me know that they were worried about me."

More than a concussion

Grogan felt relieved after finally telling his parents about the dangerous incident. However, he hadn't felt 'normal' since suffering his concussion.

"I had a few after effects: trouble sleeping, sensitivity to light ... I would stutter when I talked sometimes. Initially the doctors said those were just symptoms of a concussion," Grogan said.

Yet Grogan and his parents thought it might be something more. While home, Grogan visited his family's physician, who scheduled Grogan for a computerized axial tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging, better known as a CAT scan and MRI. The results indicated more damage to Grogan's brain than was initially diagnosed; Grogan had suffered a traumatic brain injury.

During Grogan's deployment in 2005, TBI was rarely diagnosed. TBI refers to any complex brain injury with a broad spectrum of symptoms that occurs from an external force. It became clear to Grogan and his physician that the explosion which caused his concussion left a lasting impact invisible to the naked eye.

Going Reserve

Despite his injury, Grogan went on to follow his dreams. He got off active duty, went to college and completed a bachelor's degree in international relations and Middle Eastern studies from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. After a three-year break from the military, Grogan realized he missed the camaraderie he had in the Air Force. In 2009, he decided to enlist in the 920th Rescue Wing as a reserve security forces noncommissioned officer.

After joining his new military family, Grogan became friends with some coworkers who had also deployed numerous times. As they swapped deployment stories, Grogan's told his fellow Airmen about the fateful night when his team's Humvee detonated an IED, causing his concussion and subsequent TBI. Upon hearing the story, Grogan's wingmen believed he was eligible to receive a Purple Heart for his injuries, and they encouraged him to do the paperwork to request one. Initially, Grogan wasn't sure whether he should follow their advice.

"I felt kind of bad just asking for it, because I thought it's one of those things they'll just give to you if you deserve it," Grogan said of the Purple Heart.

To help him make a decision, Grogan spoke to the man who inspired him to join the Air Force--his grandfather, who himself had suffered injuries as a service member during World War II.

"When I asked him about applying for the Purple Heart, he was very supportive," Grogan said of his grandfather. "He said if I qualify for it, I should get it."

With the help of his fellow Reservists, Grogan began the Purple Heart paperwork in 2009.

Patience pays off

The process for applying for a Purple Heart was far from simple. Grogan's military records had been lost, so there was no documentation of the concussion he had suffered four years earlier. He still had the civilian documentation from his CAT scan and MRI, but that wasn't enough. He needed some military verification linking it to his deployment. Remembering the physician assistant who was part of his team that fateful day in Iraq, Grogan contacted him to see if he could help.

The physician assistant wrote the necessary memorandum for record stating that Grogan had in fact suffered a concussion on his deployment, and his symptoms were consistent with TBI. With that letter, Grogan had the last piece of documentation he needed. Filing the paperwork was the next hurdle.

There was confusion on how to update his records because he was active duty when the incident occurred, but a Reservist when he applied. After hunting down the correct offices and points of contact, Grogan found out he needed to contact the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records. Finally, the ball was rolling.

"It took about a year and a half to go through the process, and then it just showed up one day," Grogan said of his Purple Heart.

On March 3, 2013--almost eight years after Grogan's concussion--Col. Jeffrey Macrander, 920th RQW commander, pinned the Purple Heart on the left side of Grogan's service dress jacket at the wing commander's call. Grogan's fellow Reserve Airmen, especially his security forces wingmen, gave him a heartfelt round of applause.

"I was personally very proud when Colonel Macrander presented the award," Grogan said. "But having to wait so long really made it feel like it was also recognition of the hard work and sacrifice that my teammates and I made all those years ago, and it wasn't forgotten."

Moving forward

Grogan's TBI has not stopped him from achieving his goals. In March 2012, he began working his dream job as a special agent for the FBI in Washington. With more than eight years of military service, Grogan said he plans to stay in the reserve and continue training security forces personnel. Despite the constant reminders not to do anything dangerous, Grogan said his mother has been very supportive of his career choices and is proud of his Purple Heart award.

A brief history of the Purple Heart

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Purple Heart is one of the most recognized and respected medals awarded to U.S. military members. General George Washington initially introduced it as the Badge of Military Merit in 1782. The Purple Heart is the nation's oldest military award, though it was ignored for nearly 150 years before being reintroduced in 1932.

When first giving instruction for the Badge of Military Merit on Aug. 7, 1782, Washington wrote:

The General ever desirous to cherish virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well as to foster and encourage every species of Military merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings over the left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth, or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding. Not only instances of unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way shall meet with a due reward ... The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all. This order is also to have retrospect to the earliest stages of the war, and to be considered as a permanent one.

On Feb. 22, 1932, the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth, the War Department (Department of Defense's predecessor) announced the re-establishment of the Purple Heart in General Order No. 3, signed by then Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur. At the time, the medal was exclusively an Army award and was not directly associated with wounds received in action.

In December 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized award of the Purple Heart to personnel from all military services in Executive Order 9277. The order also stated that the Purple Heart was for service members who were "wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, or as a result of an act of such enemy, provided such would necessitate treatment by a medical officer."

In order of precedence, the Purple Heart is ranked immediately behind the bronze star and ahead of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

(This article contains information from the Department of Veterans Affairs publication Celebrating America's Freedoms: The Purple Heart.)