A Purple Heart From WWII

Nov. 13, 2008

Former Army Air Forces Cpl. Hilario L. Riojas of Karnes City, Tex., received the Purple Heart he was due for wounds received during World War II at a special ceremony Nov. 10 at Randolph AFB, Tex. Col. Jacqueline Van Ovost, commander of the 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph, presented the medal to Riojas in the base’s historic “Taj Mahal” rotunda before friends, family, and present-day airmen. Riojas was wounded by artillery fire in late 1945 and separated from the service in fall 1946 but never received his Purple Heart. (Randolph report by Gabriel Myers)

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