At last, Purple Hearts to go to 2

1 slain, 1 injured at LR recruit site

Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, left, and Pvt. William Long are seen in these file photos.
Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, left, and Pvt. William Long are seen in these file photos.

WASHINGTON -- Nearly six years after two service members were shot outside a military recruiting station in Little Rock, the secretary of the Army announced Thursday that each will receive the Purple Heart.

The path to granting the awards followed multiple congressional hearings and years of lobbying from Arkansas' delegation. In December, Congress approved a change to the federal definition of who qualifies for the nation's oldest military honor.

The Purple Heart, which shows George Washington's profile on a purple background and surrounded by a quarter-inch bronze border, is awarded by the president to military members killed or wounded in action, including in a terrorist attack, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. A spokesman for the Army said the military will work with the victims' families to determine how and when to present the medals.

On June 1, 2009, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, a convert to Islam, opened fire at the Little Rock Army-Navy Career Center in the Ashley Square Shopping Center on Rodney Parham Road.

Pvt. William "Andy" Long, 23, of Conway, who had enlisted in the infantry in January 2009, died. Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, then 18, of Jacksonville was wounded but survived. He had enlisted in October 2008 as a heavy construction equipment operator.

The federal government initially considered the attack a criminal action, rather than an act of terror, and Long and Ezeagwula were not deemed eligible for Purple Hearts. Muhammad is serving a life sentence and has said he attacked the soldiers in retaliation for U.S. military actions in the Middle East.

In November 2009 a similar attack at Fort Hood killed 13 people and wounded more than 30. Maj. Nidal Hasan was convicted in August 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. The victims of that attack also were denied the Purple Heart.

Arkansas' and Texas' delegations repeatedly filed legislation to have the shooting victims recognized, encountering opposition from President Barack Obama's administration; the White House eventually relented. Language in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 changed the Purple Heart criteria so service members and civilians who are victims of an attack inspired by terrorism receive the awards and recognition. The attack has to be inspired or motivated by a U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization.

The act instructed the Defense Department to review potential recipients but did not guarantee the soldiers would get the honor.

In February, the Army announced that the Fort Hood victims would receive Purple Hearts and that the Little Rock victims were being considered. The Texas ceremony was held last week.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced awards for Long and Ezeagwula on Thursday at the bottom of a news release stating that victims or families of victims in each shooting would receive full military benefits.

Long's father, Daris Long, served in the Marine Corps for 27 years. He repeatedly testified before congressional committees, hoping to persuade lawmakers to change the law. Long said U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, called him with the decision Thursday morning.

"It's long overdue. I've been fighting five years, eight months and 16 days for this. They had to change the law, they had to recognize Little Rock as a terrorist act and then they had to do the right thing," he said.

Long said approving the Purple Heart for his son upholds the military code of ethics.

"By not recognizing it they left him behind. By recognizing it they picked him up, they didn't leave him and I'm glad the Army did the right thing, the appropriate thing," he said.

Long praised efforts by Arkansas' delegation and governors over the past six years.

"Regardless of the political affiliations of the Arkansas congressional delegation we have had nothing but support," Long said.

Long pointed to shows of support from each person who has represented Arkansas in Congress for the past six years, including former Democratic U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder's appearance at William Long's funeral and a letter and Ranger patch he received from Tom Cotton, now a U.S. senator, two weeks after the shooting. Cotton was stationed with the Army in Afghanistan at the time and was not yet a candidate.

"For those people to stand up for what is right, every single one of them, that says a lot for our congressional delegation regardless of party here in Arkansas," Long said.

Reached by phone Thursday, Ezeagwula said he hadn't heard from the Army. He said he wasn't prepared to talk with a reporter about the announcement.

Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, said he was pleased by the decision calling it long overdue.

"Andy Long and Quinton Ezeagwula were killed and wounded in the Global War on Terror, which has no boundaries. Their murderer admitted that he was committed to jihad against United States soldiers and he had traveled to Yemen. It shouldn't have taken an act of Congress to bring this about," Cotton said.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, called the announcement a good day for the state.

"I'm just very grateful that the secretary and his staff looked at the facts and recognized that these individuals certainly did qualify for the medal. [It's] so important that we as a state and as a nation just take the time to honor sacrifices," he said.

Hill said it's important that the military is recognizing that terrorism can occur in the U.S.

"It's a global war on terrorism and one doesn't have to be in a foreign combat theater in order to demonstrate bravery that's deserving of the awards," he said. "I just have regrets that it took six long years for these men to receive the recognition that they deserve, but I'm pleased that after that long wait the outcome is a good one."

Metro on 04/17/2015

Upcoming Events