Muscatine veteran honored with Purple Heart and Air Medal ceremony

Ormsby was born in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1950. In September 1968, he was drafted into the United States Army by the Selective Service Local Board in Tipton, Iowa. Demonstrating exceptional dedication and skill, Mr. Ormsby achieved the rare feat of being promoted from Private E-1 to Staff Sergeant E-6 in just 19 months.

During his service in Vietnam from October 1969 to February 1970, Mr. Ormsby was assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division as an 11B Light Weapons Infantryman. On January 31, 1970, while leading his platoon through the Vietnamese jungle and unloading a helicopter at a landing zone, Mr. Ormsby's unit was ambushed. He was shot and wounded, necessitating immediate medical evacuation first to Japan and then onto the United States due to medical complications. Unfortunately, due to the chaotic nature of the battlefield and subsequent medical evacuations, the proper paperwork for the Purple Heart was never processed at that time.

In June 2023, Muscatine County Veteran Affairs assisted Mr. Ormsby in submitting a package to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, to rectify this oversight. On December 4, 2023, nearly 54 years after his injury, Mr. Ormsby was finally awarded the Purple Heart.