TORRINGTON, Conn. — On Aug. 7, 1942, General George Washington created what is now widely-known as the Purple Heart Award.
Back in the days of the Revolutionary War, it was called the Badge of Military Merit, recognizing American soldiers wounded or killed in combat.
“Nobody volunteers to get a Purple Heart. Nobody wants a Purple Heart. But when you do receive it, it’s quite a badge of honor,” Retired U.S. Army Major Dan Eddinger of Torrington said.
For Eddinger, Purple Heart Day is a time of reflection. It’s a moment to look back at his 26 years of military service and remember his brothers in uniform who died on the battlefield.
“We have people in our background who have lost their lives…who were our heroes,” he said, wiping away tears. "We can’t forget them. Can’t forget them ever.”
Eddinger enlisted in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, earning the military’s high honor not once but twice: first in 1967 when enemy fire wounded his left leg and again the following year when his head was hit by remnants of gunfire.
“A piece of shrapnel fractured the orbit of my right eye,” Eddinger said, while pointing to his facial injury.
Retired Army Staff Sergeant Robert Sodergren of Torrington signed up to fight in Vietnam, becoming part of the 101st Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade.
“There’s a PTSD that’s sad but true. You can’t erase it out of your mind. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it,” Sodergren said.
Sodergren received his Purple Heart after surviving an attack on recon patrol.
“We walked into a 100-man-strong ambush by the North Vietnamese,” he said.
About half of his unit died. Sodergren, himself, narrowly dodged what could have been a deadly bullet.
“It went through my eye right here and through the side of my head right here,” Sodergren said, while explaining how medical staff, at one point, removed the injured eye from its socket to save his vision.
Sodergren keeps his purple and gold medal tucked away in a drawer and takes it out just once a year.
“Only on the 7th,” Sodergren said, with tears in his eyes. “It reminds me of all my friends who never came home.”
To the country, the Purple Heart is a symbol of valor and a way to say thank you for service and sacrifice.
But for the soldiers who wear the Merit Badge, it also carries their military memories.
“It’s hard to pull it up,” Eddinger said. “It’s hard to take stuff back, so we often put this stuff in the closet, close the door and don’t open the door again.”
The United States has given out an estimated 1.8 million Purple Heart Awards since 1782, with the first three awards distributed to soldiers from Connecticut.
Bridgette Bjorlo is an anchor/reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at bbjorlo@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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