2 shot in LR awarded medals

Purple Hearts given after U.S. attacks prompt rule change

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow pins a Purple Heart medal on former Army Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula at a ceremony Wednesday at the state Capitol. “I was about to cry,” Ezeagwula said afterward.
Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow pins a Purple Heart medal on former Army Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula at a ceremony Wednesday at the state Capitol. “I was about to cry,” Ezeagwula said afterward.

The parents of a slain soldier stood shoulder to shoulder, grasping hands, as they were presented a Purple Heart medal Wednesday on their son's behalf.

photo

AP/US ARMY

This May 15, 2009 file photo provided by the U.S. Army in Little Rock, Ark., shows U.S. Army Pvt. William “Andy” Long, 23, of Conway, Ark.

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Family members of Pvt. William “Andy” Long stand together during the ceremony Wednesday at the state Capitol to accept the Purple Heart medal in the slain soldier’s honor. From left are Sgt. Maj. Willie Clemmons, Long’s father, Daris Long his mother Janet, sister Vanessa Rice, brother Triston Long and Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow. More photos online at arkansasonline.com.

Daris Long, the father of U.S. Army Pvt. William "Andy" Long, remained somber as the medal was pinned to his suit jacket. The soldier's mother, Janet Long, wiped away tears and squeezed her husband's arm.

For the Long family and former Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, a soldier injured in the same attack who has since left the military, the presentation of Purple Hearts was a long-overdue honor.

It was a moment six years in the making.

"I was about to cry," Ezeagwula said of the instant the medal was pinned to his jacket. "I had to stop myself. I held that in, but it was like my heart dropped."

On June 1, 2009, Andy Long, 23, of Conway was shot and killed, and Ezeagwula, then 18, of Jacksonville was wounded when Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, a convert to Islam, opened fire at the Little Rock Army-Navy Career Center on Rodney Parham Road.

Initially, both men were not deemed eligible for Purple Hearts because the military classified that shooting as a criminal act instead of terrorism.

After multiple congressional hearings and years of lobbying from Arkansas' congressional delegation that resulted in a change to Purple Heart criteria, Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced in April that Long and Ezeagwula would receive the nation's oldest military honor.

Over the years, Daris Long repeatedly urged lawmakers to help him obtain the honor for Ezeagwula and his son. The culmination of Long's efforts came Wednesday, when the two soldiers were honored with Purple Heart medals at the state Capitol. The men's families and friends were present, as were Army officers, Little Rock police and the federal and state officials who helped make the moment possible.

"I turn 60 very shortly. One-tenth of my life was spent doing this," Daris Long said. "There are peaks and valleys, and this is a peak. There's a lot of people who felt this would never happen. I had faith something would happen. I was always in contact with our elected representatives -- 'Don't let it slide. Don't let it slide.'"

A large portrait of Andy Long in his Army uniform rested on a pedestal next to the podium in the Capitol rotunda. His parents, as well as his siblings, Vanessa Rice and Triston Long, were all pinned with Gold Star lapel buttons, which go to families of deceased service members.

Ezeagwula, now 24, was surrounded by his fiancee, parents, and a couple of dozen other family members and friends. Dressed in a black suit and purple tie, he stood at attention when Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, who heads the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, pinned his Purple Heart to his jacket.

The medal, which was first introduced in 1782 as the "Badge of Military Merit" by George Washington, shows the first president's profile on a purple background surrounded by a quarter-inch bronze border.

"It's a lot of mixed emotions today," Ezeagwula said. "I'm sad about my friend, but at the same time, I'm happy that they showed appreciation."

Ezeagwula and Long were both recruiters at the center on Rodney Parham Road. Long had enlisted in the infantry in January 2009, and Ezeagwula enlisted in October 2008 as a heavy construction equipment operator.

They were both standing outside the office about 10:20 a.m. on June 1, 2009, when Muhammad started firing from the driver's seat of his truck.

Muhammad, born Carlos Bledsoe, said he attacked the soldiers in retaliation for U.S. military actions in the Middle East. He is currently serving a life sentence in prison.

"A little more than six years ago, two young men raised their right hands and made the decision to support and defend our nation and join the United States Army. Shortly after completing basic training, these two young men volunteered to work as hometown recruiters," said Snow during Wednesday's ceremony. "They were specifically targeted for their devotion to our country and defending our way of life."

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Purple Heart is awarded by the president to military members killed or wounded in action, including in a terrorist attack.

But the federal government at first considered the Little Rock attack a criminal action, rather than an act of terror. It was determined Long and Ezeagwula did not qualify.

Victims of a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, that occurred later in 2009 also were denied the honor.

Together, the Arkansas and Texas delegations prompted a change to the federal definition of who qualifies for the Purple Heart by adding language to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015. Congress approved the change in December.

The new criteria authorize Purple Hearts to be awarded to service members and civilians who are victims of an attack inspired by terrorism. The attack has to have been inspired or motivated by a U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization.

Both Long and Ezeagwula's families expressed satisfaction Wednesday that the change would allow victims of future attacks to receive their recognition without delay.

"The evening after we lost Andy, Jan and I got on our knees and prayed that our loss would have a positive outcome, that Andy's life was not just wasted," Daris Long said. "We had faith that there was a plan in all this pain, but we were in the dark as to what that plan was. Today, it is clear that our prayers were answered."

Speaking to her son after the ceremony, Sonja Ezeagwula-Turner said, "I'm sorry that you had to get shot, son, but sometimes things happen in your life to open doors for other people."

"Everything in life happens for a reason, no matter how it ends up," said Ezeagwula's father, Ike Ezeagwula. "I'm thinking like, what Quinton went through, it's for a reason. It's for a purpose."

Daris Long was emotional when describing to the crowd of about 100 people an interaction with his son that occurred in the last months of Andy Long's life.

When Daris Long couldn't sleep one night after he rushed a conversation with his son -- who had called home from Army training -- he got up and wrote Andy a letter.

"I apologized for what I had done and swore that if he ever needed me, I would be there for him," Daris Long said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I also promised Quinton and his mother that I would not give up trying to get him the recognition he deserved."

"This was never just about getting the Purple Heart for our son and Quinton. It was about keeping that promise to Andy. It was about actively identifying what really happened in Little Rock and in Fort Hood. These acts were not just a drive-by shooting or workplace violence. They were terrorist attacks on our service members in our own land."

Metro on 07/02/2015

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