“I’m honored to have it, but the honor also goes to every combat medic. There were a lot of guys who did more than me and weren’t recognized,” Ark said.
Already a recipient of a Vietnam Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Bronze Star Medals and an inductee of the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for valor, the Purple Heart symbolizes something long-sought for Ark.
The memory is still vivid. It was on the perimeter of Lai Khe that Ark, new to the 8th Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, found himself on a 100-yard run from bunker to bunker amid an intense attack. Flashes of explosions helped him navigate through the night.
He described the bunker he attended to the wounded in triage like a war movie: Sand falling down lit by a single light that shook during the explosions and talking to the wounded. Even though hurt, the least injured would get right back out to the fighting.
“Those are the real heroes right there to help people miles away with the artillery,” said Ark.
Ark was awarded a Combat Medic Badge for that action, which he couldn’t display in the field as medics had a price on their head from the enemy along with lieutenants and radio operators. A comment he received may have meant more than the badge: “You done good, doc,” from a fellow soldier.
“That meant the world to me,” he said.
It wasn’t until the next morning as the sun was rising that Ark noticed burn holes in his shirt, opening to find what looked like “bloody pimples.” He was treated and went back to duty, but that wasn’t quite the end.
Years later, he noticed a piece of shrapnel fall out of his knee while working on his farm. In 2005, Ark wrote out what he could to apply for a Purple Heart, which proved an uphill challenge without any documentation or witnesses vouching for his wounds.
The Dayton Veterans Administration helped the cause by finding more shrapnel in Ark’s back, although a board of review rejected the application even with that evidence, causing him to all but give up.
Members of Springfield’s Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 620 didn’t allow Ark to abandon hope, making him a sort of honorary member, keeping him involved with their activities and writing letters on his behalf.
In 2018, Ark met Ben Thaeler of U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson’s office at a local veterans’ ceremony. He took Ark’s paperwork to send to a review, sharing updates along the way.
While the support was appreciated, Ark wasn’t hopeful. That changed on Jan. 12.
The package he received that Tuesday seemed a little different, more weight to it than the usual meds. Ark investigated it in his office and to his disbelief was the Purple Heart.
“I just stared and stared and asked myself is this real,” he said.
Seeing his name on the back confirmed but Ark admits it still hasn’t sunk in. He’s shared the news with others in town who are just as proud.
Now he can wear a hat with a Purple Heart on it and proudly wear a jacket his fellow Chapter 620 members gave him and reveal the heart on it he previously had to cover. Ark now hopes other Purple Heart applicants can have the same joyful reaction years after for something they suffered.
“Keep at it, persevere,” said Ark. “It gives me a good feeling, something I’ve wanted so long, to be a certified member of Chapter 620. It verified their belief in me.”
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