JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON –
Staff Sgt. Edward Matayka was honored by his former Vermont National Guard commander during a Purple Heart ceremony at the Warrior and Family Support Center Oct. 18.
Col. Even Renz, deputy commander for Brooke Army Medical Center Acute Care, opened the ceremony, followed by Maj. Gen. William F. Roy, deputy commanding general for Operations U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), who presented the medal and certificate.
The ceremony had a special meaning to both Roy and Matayka. Roy was Matayka's brigade commander in Vermont before his deployment to Afghanistan and was serving as his commander when he received notification of the incident. Matayka's wife, Karen, was also deployed with him when he was injured; they were both combat medics.
"They both volunteered to go forward with our patrols to provide medical assistance," Roy said.
"I remember the night we got the news from the operation's center that one of our vehicles got struck by a (roadside bomb), that we had lost one of our own and that Sgt. Matayka had been severely wounded in that incident," he recalled. "I was at Bagram Airfield hospital when he came in with Karen. It was a very difficult night."
Roy praised the Mataykas for their strength and support through one of the most difficult times in their lives.
"The fact that his wife was with him in Afghanistan, followed him through his rehabilitation and now that they have two children - it really shows the strength of character our Soldiers have. I look at it as a life experience and that we can continue on," he said.
Matayka said he couldn't think of anyone better to present him with the Purple Heart than his former commander.
"It's been a great day - the biggest thing was when he was Col. Roy, he was always a Soldier first and a commander second," Matayka said. "He definitely gave you the courage and strength to accomplish your mission, and that inspiration is what drove me. I'm overjoyed he chose to do this."
Matayka, a combat medic, was assigned to Company A, Special Troop Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb July 2, 2010 resulting in his combat injuries.
The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration and the oldest military honor in the world in use.