Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, USAREC commanding general, presents the posthumous Purple Heart award to the family of Pvt. Andy Long July 1, in the Arkansas state capitol. Long was shot and killed by a terrorist outside the Little Rock, Arkansas Recruiting Center June 1, 2009. Photo courtesy of the Arkansas Governor's Office.
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Maj. Gen. Jeffrey snow, USAREC commanding general presents the Purple Heart to Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula July 1, in the Arkansas state capitol. Ezeagwula was wounded by a terrorist outside the Little Rock, Arkansas Recruiting Center June 1, 2009. Photo courtesy of the Arkansas Governor's Office.
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Hometown Recruiter Soldiers get Purple Hearts at Arkansas Capitol
By Brian Lepley, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Photos courtesy of the Arkansas Governor's Office
July 1, 2015
Purple Heart medals were presented Wednesday for two Soldiers who were shot while serving on hometown recruiting duty in Little Rock, Arkansas, June 1, 2009.
Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula accepted his medal and the family of Pvt. Andy Long, killed in the attack, received his posthumous award from Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, U.S. Army Recruiting Command's commanding general, at the Arkansas State Capitol ceremony.
"Quinton and Andy are many things to us – hero, friend and son – but to America, they are dedicated patriots, defenders of freedom and unrelenting public servants who chose to serve a higher purpose in life," Snow said. "Their families mean a great deal to us because they supported their sons’ military service and chose to share these two patriots with the rest of us."
Ezeagwula and Long were between basic training and advanced individual training in 2009 and on the Hometown Recruiting Assistance Program, where new Soldiers return to their home area and help recruiters encourage young people to enlist.
Military personnel like Ezeagwula and Long and those killed and wounded in the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, previously were not eligible for the Purple Heart. Its award rules stated the medal could only be presented to those wounded in combat.
Pvt. Long’s father, Daris Long, a retired Marine, worked for years with Arkansas federal office holders to get that rule changed. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, approved by Congress to fund the Department of Defense that fiscal year, permitted awarding the Purple Heart to those wounded or killed in an attack motivated by US-recognized foreign terrorist elements.
"This was never just about getting the Purple Heart for our son and Quinton," Long said. "It was about keeping that promise to Andy. It was about accurately identifying what really happened in Little Rock and in Fort Hood. These acts were not simply a drive-by shooting or workplace violence. They were terrorist attacks on our service members in our own land."
He emotionally recounted a Sunday in 2009 when he found himself busy with chores and was on the phone only briefly with Andy, who was calling from basic training.
“Later that night I wrote him a letter apologizing for that and telling him, if he ever needed me, I would be there for him,” Long said.
Pvts. Long and Ezeagwula were standing outside a Little Rock recruiting center June 1, 2009, when Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad fired upon them from a pickup truck. Arrested that day, Muhammad is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole. He cited his anger toward America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as his reason for attacking service members.
By Brian Lepley, USAREC, Public Affairs Office
Photos courtesy of the Arkansas Governor's Office
July 1, 2015
Purple Heart medals were presented Wednesday for two Soldiers who were shot while serving on hometown recruiting duty in Little Rock, Arkansas, June 1, 2009.
Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula accepted his medal and the family of Pvt. Andy Long, killed in the attack, received his posthumous award from Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, U.S. Army Recruiting Command's commanding general, at the Arkansas State Capitol ceremony.
"Quinton and Andy are many things to us – hero, friend and son – but to America, they are dedicated patriots, defenders of freedom and unrelenting public servants who chose to serve a higher purpose in life," Snow said. "Their families mean a great deal to us because they supported their sons’ military service and chose to share these two patriots with the rest of us."
Ezeagwula and Long were between basic training and advanced individual training in 2009 and on the Hometown Recruiting Assistance Program, where new Soldiers return to their home area and help recruiters encourage young people to enlist.
Military personnel like Ezeagwula and Long and those killed and wounded in the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, previously were not eligible for the Purple Heart. Its award rules stated the medal could only be presented to those wounded in combat.
Pvt. Long’s father, Daris Long, a retired Marine, worked for years with Arkansas federal office holders to get that rule changed. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, approved by Congress to fund the Department of Defense that fiscal year, permitted awarding the Purple Heart to those wounded or killed in an attack motivated by US-recognized foreign terrorist elements.
"This was never just about getting the Purple Heart for our son and Quinton," Long said. "It was about keeping that promise to Andy. It was about accurately identifying what really happened in Little Rock and in Fort Hood. These acts were not simply a drive-by shooting or workplace violence. They were terrorist attacks on our service members in our own land."
He emotionally recounted a Sunday in 2009 when he found himself busy with chores and was on the phone only briefly with Andy, who was calling from basic training.
“Later that night I wrote him a letter apologizing for that and telling him, if he ever needed me, I would be there for him,” Long said.
Pvts. Long and Ezeagwula were standing outside a Little Rock recruiting center June 1, 2009, when Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad fired upon them from a pickup truck. Arrested that day, Muhammad is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole. He cited his anger toward America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as his reason for attacking service members.