In 2006, Private First Class Jerry Stravia IV of Alpha Company 3rd Brigade Combat Team 1st Cavalry was assigned to an armored personnel carrier in an active war zone. Over the course of the next year of deployment, his vehicle was hit several times over the course of multiple missions by Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). That eventually resulted in a traumatic brain injury for Private Stravia which led to his medical separation from the Army.
The Army is still living in the past. “Wounds” are recognized with a Purple Heart, “injuries” are not even if they are combat related. US Senator Mike Rounds thought that was unjust. Senator Rounds and his team have pursued a Purple Heart for Jerry Stravia over the past six years with the Army and several Secretaries of the Army to no avail. Finally, Senator Rounds told the military he was going to attach, as an amendment to the Defense Reauthorization Bill, Mr. Stravia’s Purple Heart award. The military relented.
On Thursday July 18,2024, in a ceremony held in the George McGovern Library on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University Jerry Stravia was presented with his well-deserved and long overdue Purple Heart by Senator Rounds.
In his acceptance remarks, Mr. Stravia recognized his family with special gratitude and commendation for his wife Rebecca, as well as recognized the parents of a war buddy of his who fell valiantly in battle.
