Retired captain given belated medal
Copley receives Distinguished Service Cross for actions during Vietnam
FORT BENNING, Ga., May 4, 2011 — Capt. Jay C. Copley fought for three hours after sustaining a bullet wound through his neck. The men of 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Regiment, assumed he was dead after they watched him be evacuated.
They presumed he was dead for 40 years – until they noticed his name wasn’t on the Vietnam Wall.
It took some help from congress, and the efforts of his fellow soldiers. From a separate article:
Copley, who received The Purple Heart, was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross but never received it because of an administrative error and three-year statute of limitation. U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, who attended, worked with U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss to get language in a defense appropriations bill to allow the award.
Welcome home Captain Copley!
