NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. – Ten New York Army National Guard Soldiers received the Purple Heart—the award given to military members wounded in action—during a May 10 ceremony at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor, New York.
The 10 Soldiers were injured during a January 28, 2024, drone attack on a U.S. base in Jordan known as Tower 22. Three U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers were killed in the attack, and 40 other personnel were injured.
Lt. Col. Darren Ketchum, the commander of their unit, the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion, presented the medals. Major General Raymond Shields, the adjutant general of New York, attended the ceremony.
Ketchum praised the 10 men for their actions that day.
"This decoration is not sought, and it's not given lightly. It is earned through courage in the face of danger. Today, we recognize those who stood firm when faced with the harshest realities of combat," Ketchum said.
The Soldiers "endured injury from hostile actions resulting from the enemy attack at Tower 22 and continued to uphold the highest standards of duty, courage and resilience," Ketchum said.
The 10 Soldiers honored during the ceremony were:
• Staff Sgt. David Barrientos, from Zebulon, North Carolina
• Sgt. Anthony Gist, from Floral Park
• Sgt. Ryan Kissoon, from Richmond Hill
• Sgt. Guillermo Renderos, from Yonkers
• Sgt. Jarvis Ho So, from Brooklyn
• SPC Christian Tiburcio, from Manhattan
• SPC Matthew Crespo, from Brooklyn
• SPC Domingo Perez, from Brooklyn
• SPC Junior Clarke, from Brooklyn
• SPC Michael Branch, from Brooklyn
"I am honored to have received the medal, but it's never an award we wanted to get," Kissoon said.
"It's a sad relief we made it home that day, and others didn't," he said.
Chaplain (Major) Chase Wilhelm, the chaplain assigned to Tower 22, told him something he would never forget about that day, Kissoon added.
"We are all from different parts of the country, but we will forever be bonded by blood," he recalled Wilhelm saying.
The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, now a state park site, was created to preserve the stories of 1.2 million Americans awarded the Purple Heart.
According to park officials, the stories of these 10 Soldiers are now part of that record.
Fourteen New York National Guard Soldiers from the battalion's C Company were stationed at the outpost to maintain communications.
The drone hit a section of the base where Soldiers lived. New York Soldiers had concussions and other injuries because of the blast.
Despite this, Soldiers who were not severely injured worked together to restore communications from the outpost to the outside world as quickly as possible. The combat lifesavers in the unit grabbed their aid kits and went to help treat other injured Soldiers despite their wounds.
Other New York National Guard Soldiers who were uninjured lined up to donate blood to save the lives of badly injured Airmen and Soldiers.
According to 1st Lt. Ian Gallagher, the platoon leader, the Containerized Housing Unit housing some New York National Guard Soldiers was "crinkled like a soda can" because of the blast.
Gallagher said he is proud of his men and proud they are being honored.
The C Company commander, Capt. Paul Kramarz, said the Soldiers assigned to the Tower 22 base, which housed 350 service members focused on reconnaissance and special forces operations, were specially selected for the mission.
"These Soldiers from Charlie Company, located at Tower 22, were a hand-selected team; we knew they would operate at the far reaches of our area of responsibility," Kramarz said.
The Purple Heart was created by George Washington in 1782 while the Continental Army was camped in New Windsor, watching the British Army, which still occupied New York.
Initially, the medal was created to honor military merit.
In the 1930s, it was revived to honor Soldiers who served in World War I. During World War II, the medal was presented to those wounded or killed by enemy action.
Military personnel awarded the Purple Heart get medical priority benefits at Veterans Administration hospitals, hiring preference for federal jobs, access to military exchanges and commissaries, and access to the Forever GI Bill, which puts no time limit on when personnel can claim their education benefits.