Correction: Dick Calton lives in Lakeway in Marion County. His hometown was incorrect in this article. Calton’s email has no hyphen. It is: DickCalton@yahoo.com.
A Baxter County man injured while fighting in the Vietnam War is seeking other combat-wounded veterans in the area to form a chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Dick Calton of Lakeview said he wants to create a local representation with the Arkansas Purple Heart Association, which helps those who have received the Purple Heart by providing medical funds and scholarships for families of wounded veterans.
Calton was shot while serving as a helicopter gunner for the Army’s 9th Infantry in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam in June 1968. He moved to Arkansas from California several years ago and joined the Mountain Home chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
“The group became inactive, and I wanted to start this to get local representation,” he said.
Calton said he has placed brochures for his chapter on the windshields of vehicles that display Purple Heart license plates.
“There’s quite a few around,” he said.
Jose Martinez, the commander of the Arkansas Purple Heart Association, said there are 45,000 Arkansans who have received the medal for injuries suffered in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the war in Afghanistan.
There are association chapters in Jonesboro, Fort Smith, Rogers, Fayetteville, Russellville and Mountain Home.
Calton said he is looking for any Purple Heart recipients who live in north-central Arkansas and south-central Missouri to join the Ozark Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Those who are interested can contact Calton at (870) 436-5184 or email him at Dick-Calton@yahoo.com
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/14/2014