Ten New York Army National Guard Soldiers will receive Purple Hearts during Saturday, May 10 ceremony

Soldiers injured during Tower 22 attack on January 28, 2024 will be recognized at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor

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NEW WINDSOR , NEW YORK (05/07/2025) Ten New York Army National Guard Soldiers who were injured during a January 28, 2024, attack on a U.S. base in Jordan will receive the Purple Heart during a ceremony at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor on Saturday, May 10.

Members of the press are invited to cover the ceremony.

WHO: Ten New York Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to C Company, 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion; Major General Michel Natali, the assistant adjutant general, Army; family members and guests, New York Army National Guard Soldiers.

WHAT: A military medal ceremony during which Major General Michel Natali will present Purple Heart awards to the 10 Soldiers who were injured in the January 28, 2024, attack on Tower 22, a U.S. logistical base in Jordan that is used support efforts to contain ISIS activities in Syria. Natali will present the Soldiers with certificates and pin medals on the men.

WHEN: 11 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, 2025.

WHERE: National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, 374 Temple Hill Road Route 300, New Windsor, 12584

Coverage Opportunities:

Members of the press can maintain still and video images of the ceremony and speak to Soldiers, leaders and family members.

NOTE: Space is limited. Reporters must call Lt. Col. Jean Marie Kratzer, New York National Guard Public Affairs Officer, by close of business on Thursday, May 8, to ensure access to the ceremony. Kratzer can be reached at 518-496-7150.

Background:

The Tower 22 Attack

Early in the morning of January 28, 2024, three U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers were killed and 50 others were injured when a drone flown by an Iranian-backed militia group hit Tower 22, a base on the Jordanian border with Syria which had been operating since 2014. Approximately 350 personnel were assigned to the base, including 14 New York Army National Guard soldiers assigned to C Company of the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion, which is based in Yonkers and Orangeburg.

The battalion, which specializes in theater-wide satellite communications, was assigned to Task Force Spartan, the U.S. Army task force operating in the Middle East. A platoon from the battalion's Charlie Company, was assigned to Tower 22 to provide communications support.

The drone hit a section of the base where Soldiers lived. The New York Soldiers suffered concussions and other injuries as a result of the blast.

Despite their injuries, Charlie Company Soldiers who could, worked together to restore communications from the outpost to the outside world as quickly as possible. The combat lifesavers in the unit grabbed their aid kits and went to help treat other injured Soldiers, despite their own wounds. Other New York National Guard Soldiers who were uninjured lined up to donate blood to save the lives of badly injured Airmen and Soldiers.

According to 1st Lt. Ian Gallagher, the platoon leader, the Containerized Housing Unit housing some of the New York National Guard Soldiers was "crinkled like a soda can" as a result of the blast.

He is proud of his men, and proud they are being honored, Gallagher says, but he has these thoughts:

" The Purple Heart is not an award to be celebrated. Rather the Purple Heart is a reminder of an event that we witnessed, a date that goes down in history written in blood, as a reminder to those who were killed that day, and to our brothers and sisters, military, civilian, and allied forces who suffered that day alongside with us."

"It is a reminder, to me, of the bravery and sacrifice that my team of incredible Soldiers displayed that day and throughout our deployment to Tower 22."

Soldiers being honored:

  • Staff Sgt. Daice Barrientos, Zebulon, North Carolina
  • Sgt. Anthony Gist, Floral Park
  • Sgt. Ryan Kissoon Richmond Hill
  • Sgt. Guillermo Renderos, Yonkers
  • Sgt. Jarvis Ho So, Brooklyn
  • SPC Christian Tiburcio, Manhattan
  • SPC Matthew Crespo, Brooklyn
  • SPC Domingo Perez, Brooklyn
  • SPC Junior Clarke, Brooklyn
  • SPC Michael Branch, Brooklyn

The Purple Heart

The Purple Heart was originally conceived back in 1782 while the Continental Army was camped here in New Windsor watching the British Army in New York City.

George Washington wanted to recognize enlisted Soldiers so he devised a Badge of Military Merit which was a purple heart- representing courage-which was to be sewn onto a Soldiers uniform above the left breast.

As far as historians know, only three were awarded before the British pulled out of New York and the Continental Army went home in 1783.

In 1927 the Army looked into reviving George Washington's purple heart medal. But the proposal; went nowhere until General Douglas MacArthur-the same MacArthur of 42nd Division fame, picked up the idea in 1931.

MacArthur wanted a medal with the bust of George Washington on it and he wanted it to be unveiled in 1932, the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth.

It was to be awarded for military merit, to people who had been recognized for their service during the Great War with a certificate. It could also be given to former Soldiers who had been awarded a chevron for wounds or to any future Soldiers wounded in action.

As time went by the medal began to be associated with being wounded and regulation changes reflected that.

Originally the award was only for Soldiers, but in December 1942 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive order making Marines, Sailors and Coast Guardsmen as well and making it clear the award was for wounds suffered in action.

It is estimated that over 1.9 million Purple Hearts have been award since the medal was reinstated in 1931.