MILWAUKEE (AP) - An Army Reservist from Milwaukee who was killed in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings has been awarded the Purple Heart.
An overflow crowd of family, friends, veterans, service members, medical personnel and patients honored Russell Seager on Friday at the Milwaukee VA Medical Clinic as a three-star general presented the medal to his family.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (https://bit.ly/1PDhNJJ ) Fort Hood victims originally did not qualify for the Purple Heart because the killings were deemed an act of workplace violence. But through the efforts of victims, families and others, Congress changed the eligibility rule this year.
The 51-year-old Seager was a Milwaukee VA nurse practitioner who was headed to Afghanistan with an Army Reserve combat stress unit. The captain was one of 13 people killed at the Texas base.
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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, https://www.jsonline.com
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