Vietnam Veteran Finally Gets Medal Thanks to National Guardsman

Needed recognition: Vietnam veteran finally gets his medals
Winston-Salem Journal
Michael Hewlett
August 16, 2015

Wallace, who served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971, said he got the award for helping to save a fellow soldier’s life.

Bernard Wallace didn’t worry too much about making sure he got his medals, including the Bronze Star Medal, when he left Vietnam. Wallace was remembering what his drill sergeant told him — do whatever you have to do to get out alive and to get home.

“At the time, all my concerns were getting back home to my family,” he said Sunday night.

But a young sergeant in the National Guard named Joey Ireland started digging around in Wallace’s military records and noticed that Wallace had a number of medals he had never received. After serving in the U.S. Army in the 101st Airborne Division, Wallace was with the National Guard for 24 years.
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