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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Friday that two West Virginia National Guard members — Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe — who were shot in an ambush-style attack near the White House late last year, will receive the Purple Heart.
Calling the Nov. 26 incident “a terrible thing” and saying the troops were “attacked by a radical,” Hegseth made the announcement while speaking at a National Guard reenlistment ceremony at the Washington Monument, where he administered the oath of enlistment to more than 100 Guardsmen from nine states serving in Washington, D.C.
“And we had a terrible thing happen a number of months ago,” Hegseth said. “Andrew Wolfe, Sarah Beckstrom, one lost, one recovered, thank God, in miraculous ways. Both soon to be Purple Heart recipients because they were attacked by a radical.”
The remarks mark the first public confirmation from Hegseth that the service members will receive the Purple Heart, one of the nation’s oldest military decorations, awarded to those killed or wounded by enemy action.
AFGHAN NATIONAL ACCUSED IN DC NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING PLEADS NOT GUILTY, PROSECUTORS MAY SEEK DEATH PENALTY
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hosts a reenlistment ceremony for National Guard members at the Washington Monument, Friday, in Washington, D.C. (DoW Photo/U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)
The Purple Heart traces its origins to the American Revolution, when George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit in 1782, to recognize enlisted soldiers wounded or killed in service. The modern Purple Heart was revived in 1932, and is awarded in the name of the president to U.S. service members wounded or killed by enemy action.
Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, were shot just blocks from the White House in what officials described as an ambush-style attack.
Beckstrom died a day after the shooting. Wolfe was seriously wounded and continues to recover.
BONDI…
