CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Dewell Glen Tolbert received a Purple Heart from the U.S. Army today for wounds he received in Vietnam.
Tolbert was part of an infantry platoon on patrol in Binh Dinh Province in 1966 when a mine exploded, injuring several soldiers. One soldier died during an evacuation helicopter ride. Tolbert was treated and return to his combat unit two days later.
"Those guys were the same as me," he said during the ceremony at the Bradley County Veterans Affairs Office. "I just wanted to be where my friends were. I love my country. It doesn't owe me a thing."
For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.