Post shooting victims to get Purple Hearts

A policy change to the National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law Dec. 19, deems service members who are victims of an attack that was inspired or motivated by a U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization eligible to receive the Purple Heart Medal.

The provision is retroactively effective as of Sept. 11, 2001.

“We awarded it on 9/11 to the people attacked at the Pentagon. That, in my opinion, set the precedent that you don’t have to be on the battlefield,” Carter said.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh said Friday he approved awarding the Purple Heart and its civilian counterpart, the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom, to victims of the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood, following the change in the medals’ eligibility criteria mandated by Congress. Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 wounded in the attack by Nidal Hasan, who was convicted in August 2013, of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

“The Purple Heart’s strict eligibility criteria had prevented us from awarding it to victims of the horrific attack at Fort Hood,” McHugh said. “Now that Congress has changed the criteria, we believe there is sufficient reason to allow these men and women to be awarded and recognized with either the Purple Heart or, in the case of civilians, the Defense of Freedom medal. It’s an appropriate recognition of their service and sacrifice.”

Carter, along with other local representatives, long advocated the decision, which also makes the shooting victims eligible for more benefits.

“Today’s announcement is great news for the men and women whose lives were forever altered after the terrorist attack,” said Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin. “I am grateful for the joint efforts in Congress with Rep. Carter, Sens. (John) Cornyn and (Ted) Cruz and our colleagues who helped push for a legislative fix. ... Though this will not bring back those 13 innocent Americans and one unborn child we lost that day, it will restore the benefits and treatments the victims and survivors earned and deserve.”

Carter said the legislation for the policy change received 225 cosponsors in Congress, though it only needed 219.

“This was a bipartisan agreement that this was a mistake being made,” he said. “Today, we’re happy to announce that mistake is being corrected.”

Texas’ Republican senators also praised the long-awaited decision.

“Since the days following the attack in 2009, the victims, their families, the Fort Hood community and so many of us have recognized that fateful day for what it was: an act of terrorism against our country and against our men and women in uniform,” Cornyn said in a statement.

Cruz said, “We can never undo the events of that day, but we can properly honor the courageous patriots who protect our nation and remain forever grateful for them.”

Though the victims are now spread throughout the country, Carter said he would be honored if he received the chance to be part of giving them the awards. The Army has not yet announced a timeline for when the Purple Hearts will be awarded.

To the victims and families, Carter expressed condolences for the wait.

“We stayed on top of it, reintroduced bills every year, in every new Congress, and I’m just grateful we’ve finally gotten what they have deserved since the day it happened,” he said.

Victims and their families also were pleased with Friday’s announcement.

“For five years, the White House and the political echelon at the Department of Defense pushed the workplace violence line. And it’s a lie,” said Reed Rubinstein, an attorney for some of the victims. “To admit the truth — that it was a terrorist attack by a jihadist — is a small but important first step toward making the victims whole.”

Howard Ray, 34, a retired Army sergeant who survived the attack and now is a graduate student in criminal justice, said he hopes to one day craft legislation “to help soldiers to not have to deal with something like this ever again.”

Rose L. Thayer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.