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Retiring Airman Honors Father With Bronze Star
(June 24, 2011) |
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| PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., (AFNS - June 16, 2011) – An
Air Force Space Command chief master sergeant used the
occasion of her retirement ceremony here to take care of one
last troop -- her father, who was presented with the Bronze
Star Medal he earned four decades ago. |
Army Col. Timothy Coffin, deputy commander of Space and Missile
Defense Command and Army Strategic Command, pins the Bronze Star on
retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Porter as his daughter, Air Force
Chief Master Sgt. Nancy Geisler, looks on during her retirement
ceremony June 13, 2011, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Porter
earned the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970
while serving with the 4th Infantry Division, currently located at
Fort Carson, Colo. U.S. Air Force photo by Dennis Howk |
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Chief Master Sgt. Nancy Geisler, a contracting superintendent and
area manager for the command, recognized her father, retired Army
Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Porter at her June 13 retirement ceremony.
Geisler coordinated with the Army to present Porter with the medal
he earned for service in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 with the 4th
Infantry Division, currently located at Fort Carson, Colorado
Springs, Colo.
For Geisler it was important to recognize her
father's service.
"My father told me while I was young that
he had received a Bronze Star," she said. "So I kept that in the
back of my mind, and with my upcoming retirement I wanted to present
a shadow box
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to my father of his Bronze Star and his citation, but he told me
that the Army never presented him his Bronze Star." |
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Geisler then decided that at her retirement ceremony, her
father should be presented his Bronze Star medal. While they
had the orders that showed Porter earned the medal, no
records of the citation could be found.
This prompted
the 4th ID to regenerate the citation, allowing Army Col.
Timothy Coffin, deputy commander of Space and Missile
Defense Command and Army Strategic Command, to present it
and the Bronze Star to Porter.
"Now is the time to
make history right," Coffin said as he presented the medal.
Service members today enjoy great support from the
nation, but "that was not the case back in 1969 and 1970
during the period of time that Sgt. 1st Class Porter was in
Vietnam,” Coffin said.
"The 4th ID is still today
overseas serving in Afghanistan, serving in combat
operations," he said. "We have young soldiers today doing
the same things that, 41 years later, Sergeant Porter has
been recognized for."
Geisler also commented on the
disparity of support that today's service members enjoy, as
compared to their predecessors who'd served in Vietnam.
"It is very rewarding to me to see that he finally got
recognized for his service," Geisler said of her father's
award.
Geisler said her father was very pleased when
he heard he would be presented his Bronze Star.
"He
said he was so proud and told all his friends where he lives
that the Army finally did him right," she said. |
By
USAF Capt. George Tobias
Air Force Space
Command Public Affairs
Copyright 2011 | |
Provided by Air Force News Service
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