A Purple Heart

PFC Mathew Jones

On 1 June 2004 PFC Mathew Jones, a gunner in the 545th MP company, earned a Purple Heart doing his job. He was in the first vehicle of three on his way to go help the Iraqi Police at their station for the day. Not 10 minutes outside of our base a large improved explosive device (homemade bomb) went off near his truck. He was wounded on the right arm with shrapnel. Our combat medic helped keep him conscious and alive as she treated his wounds and got him evacuated to the combat support hospital. He is on his way home to Texas to have some more surgery done to his arm to help repair some minor nerve damage. He will hold his one month old son for the first time in the next few days. Please say a prayer for him and his family.

Throughout the entire year the 545th MP Company received five total purple hearts.  This is quite low for a unit this size that had approximately 75% of the Soldiers out on the streets of Baghdad on a given day.  PFC Jones was not the first Soldier to receive a purple heart in the company during OIF2 but he was the first to get returned the the states because of his injuries.  The other soldiers that received purple hearts were:  SGT Holloway, SGT Harmon (both from the same rocket attack), SFC Lagarez and PFC White (both from an IED in October).  Through God's blessing no Soldier from the 545th MP Company had to give the ultimate sacrifice for his country during OIF2.  All 240 deployed and 240 returned home to Fort Hood, Texas.