The son of new West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner has received a Purple Heart, more than six years after he was injured in Afghanistan.
The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register report that retired Army captain Steven Warner received the honor during a ceremony Monday at the state capitol in Charleston, hours after his father was sworn in as the new secretary of state.
Warner and his unit were clearing a dirt road of improvised explosive devices in April 2010 when their vehicle was hit by a Taliban IED. Warner suffered a severe concussion from the blast.
Most soldiers get the Purple Heart when they’re in-theater, but because he wasn’t evacuated, Warner says the honor got delayed.
Warner is currently studying at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School.