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Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Friday that the state has requested the posthumous award of the Purple Heart for U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and the same honor for Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe.
“Sarah and Andrew’s actions on that day,” he said. “They meet the highest and clearest standards for the Purple Heart, a decoration that recognizes those wounded or killed in action against an enemy or during a hostile or terrorist act.”
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan expanded the criteria for a Purple Heart to terroristic attacks like Beirut, and in 2015, Congress expanded that further to include domestic terror attacks like those on military bases.
Beckstrom and Wolfe were ambushed and shot in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 26 just blocks from the White House. Beckstrom died the next day. Wolfe continues to recover.