|Photo by Joselyn King| U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., left, presents Vietnam War veteran Spencer Curry with an American flag during a stop in Wheeling on Friday. Manchin also brought Curry a host of replacement military medals he had not received.

WHEELING – U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin made certain two local veterans received the honors due them during a stop at VFW Post 4442 in Elm Grove on Friday.

Manchin, I-W.Va., brought with him a host of replacement medals and ribbons for Spencer Curry, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War. He also presented to Gerald “Wally” McMasters, commander of Post 4442, a certificate of appreciation for initiating the Purple Heart Parking Space program locally.

In addition, each of the veterans received a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol from Manchin.

Manchin said he knew Curry since childhood, as they were both Marion County natives who played sports together as youths. Curry’s military status was upgraded in 2017, which entitled him to additional awards “but there was a delay in receiving them,” Manchin said.

“My office was notified, and we worked to expedite the request through the Marine Corps,” he continued.

Manchin presented Curry with medals for combat service in Vietnam, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation, as well as a number of other ribbons.

Manchin also detailed McMasters’ long career and history of service to the community. McMasters served in the U.S. Navy as a Seabee during the Vietnam War, “performing everything from maintenance to electrician work,” he reported.

After McMasters returned home, he took a job as a coal miner and eventually became a safety inspector.

“He continued to display an unwavering commitment to his work, and later protected the lives of others as a safety inspector,” Manchin said. “His ability to approach any situation with a good balance of endurance and forethought is one we should all seek to instill within ourselves.

“I can only imagine how many people have been motivated by the strength you’ve shown over the years, Wally.”

He thanked McMasters for his dedication to the Purple Heart Parking Space Program, which has designated “dozens” of parking spots in the area to Purple Heart recipients, Manchin continued.

McMasters told those present he came up with the idea on a hot July day.

“It seemed like a good idea, but I never dreamed it would be something like this,” he said.

Stencils have now been created to further designate the spots, and he expects the number of Purple Heart parking spots to increase in the future.

“We’re not done yet,” he said.

Manchin noted that he, Curry and McMasters were all about the same age.

Manchin said he personally was drafted in 1967, which he called “a rough time in this country.”

He then recalled why he was rejected for military service, even though he wanted to serve. Prior to being drafted, he was a football player at West Virginia University who had ended his career after severely damaging his knee.

After this, Manchin said he began taking flying lessons with hopes of being a pilot in the military.

In the end, recruiters found he couldn’t do deep knee bends and couldn’t pass the physical requirements for military service.

“One of the voids of my life – I have two of them – is that I didn’t become an Eagle Scout, and I didn’t serve in the military,” Manchin said. “So I did the next best thing, I got involved with politics.”