Once Denied A Purple Heart, A TBI Soldier Gets Her Medal

Once Denied A Purple Heart, A Soldier Gets Her Medal
NPR
By DANIEL ZWERDLING
September 3, 2012

In 2010, NPR reported that some Army commanders refused to award the Purple Heart to many troops who got concussions in combat because they didn't consider these "real" injuries. As a result of our story, the Army did its own investigation and put out new guidelines on Purple Hearts. Last week, the Army told NPR that under the new rules, they've finally awarded the medal to almost 1,000 soldiers, including Michelle Dyarman, whom we profiled in our original 2010 reports.

Michelle Dyarman is at the American Legion on a recent Sunday more than two hours before the ceremony is supposed to begin. Her local American Legion is in a drab brick building in Hanover, Pa. They've set up three long folding tables in the social hall, covered with red, white and blue plastic tablecloths. There are platters with cubes of salami, cheese and vegetable dip.

Dyarman keeps tearing up and wiping her eyes. "It's a big day," she says.

She has set up poster boards on a side table with mementos and photos from her Army career. Her Army cap, her Army boots — they're tiny, like they belong to a kid.

One photo shows Dyarman with a group of Iraqi children around her. "We were delivering shoes and school supplies, and toys, clothing, food," she says. Another poster features pictures of her and some of the famous people who visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center while she was there — including President George H.W. Bush and Tom Hanks.

Dyarman, a major in the Army reserves in 2005, had been setting up meetings around Baghdad between Army commanders and Iraqi leaders. A roadside bomb exploded right beside her Humvee. A few months later, she was in a second explosion. The Army sent her to Walter Reed to treat her paralyzing headaches, muscle spasms and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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