Colorado veteran who was given Purple Heart without authorization struggles with brain injury, waits for official decoration

Joel Hunt struggles through the words. "I knew that I was in an explosion, but I didn't remember," he tries to recall. Some of the nine years he spent in the Army is gone. He has double vision at times.

 
He forgets details. A former combat engineer for the Army, Joel Hunt still suffers from his military service according to the Veteran's Administration review of his condition. And yet, he was never properly honored for the injury that caused his troubles.

"They had documentation that he had been exposed to IEDs. And in his case, the record of IEDs was about 22 blasts that he was exposed to, which is a pretty high number," said Robert Alvarez, of USJAG, a nonprofit that usually assists active duty service members at preventing bad conduct discharges when they are injured and acting out as a result of their injuries. This time, Alvarez is involved with a soldier post-service. Joel Hunt left the army in 2007. He was having difficulty doing his job. His was an honorable discharge. But there were lingering issues with his brain.

"There were several people that were telling me, 'Hey you're doing this, you're doing that,' I didn't remember and then when I went to the doctor there at Fort Carson, it was a psychiatrist and I was telling him what was going on and he's like, have you got checked for TBI?"

TBI is traumatic brain injury.

After a visit to the VA, the military changed his retirement, noting his brain injury was combat related. Soon, staffers at Fort Carson connected him with the Forgotten Heroes Campaign. The Denver based nonprofit was helping soldiers who didn't get their medals get honored for their service. Forgotten Heroes told him he could get a Purple Heart for his injury.

"I was proud. You know he told me, 'Hey this isn't authorized but we're still pursuing it you know, we wanted to give this before your mom dies.'"

Hunt's mother was dying of cancer in 2011. They would hold the ceremony before her death. In the emotional proceedings, his mother pinned the Purple Heart on her son. The nonprofit's leader, retired brigadier general Sal Villano spoke at the event and honored Hunt.

"Our committee, we're very thorough. We can't afford to make one mistake."

Hunt is not sure where they got the medal, but they can be bought at a military PX.

"I think it's terrible what happened to him," said Barry Fiore, currently public relations director for Forgotten Heroes in Colorado. "I will acknowledge on behalf of Forgotten Heroes, that they did not do the right job."

The organization did not ensure that Hunt had been awarded the Purple Heart. He had not.

"They told me that they were going to pursue it," said Hunt.

But that didn't happen.

"The documentation... was not done. It was without his knowledge that he received this from Forgotten Heroes," said Fiore.

"Bless his heart, Sal Villano, brigadier general, he died a couple months ago. But in those days, he wasn't paper conscious like I am," said Fiore.

Hunt's records show three tours in Iraq at the time of the Iraq War. First in late 2003, then in 2004-2005 and after that in 2005-2006. But he doesn't recall details. He remembers bits and pieces and those come and go. "I don't remember deploying," he says about the ramp up to war. His former company commander, colonel Michael Payne says in late 2003, they were in southern Turkey and northern Iraq. Their role was to be a distraction, while the 3rd Infantry Division rolled over Southern Iraq.

"He was a solid soldier," said Payne, who was a captain at the time and later was an aide to a division commander where he says he saw all the injury reports come through. "What I would say now is that he had TBI," said Payne. "He got blown up."

Records indicate Hunt was likely around 22 improvised explosive device explosions (IED) during his time in Iraq. Most came during Hunt's '04-'05 deployment. "We were blown up by IEDs at least three to four times a week," wrote former Sargent Gilbert Newman on Hunt's behalf for his military record. "I can remember on one occasion when an IED blast seriously damaged the HUMVEE that Joel was driving," he wrote. "So there's no doubt in my mind that Joel did sustain some sort of injury," said fellow soldier Lyle Allen. "traumatic brain injury during that time, because of the shock wave."

The vehicle was heavily damaged. Hunt says he went to the medical treatment area upon return to their base, but did little. Hunt says he did not think it was a big deal. "I grabbed Motrin and I grabbed some duct tape and then I headed to the motor pool and we were changing out the tire and the hood." Blast waves can cause injury.

The military has done more in recent years to realize the severity of those injuries. But at the time, the injuries were less noted and treated.

In the Army, getting help for a closed head injury meant asking for help for an injury that was not visible. "Unfortunately a lot of them don't get help that they need because they don't have a visual injury," said Hunt. But it continued to affect him. He could not wear night vision goggles, but figured he just had a bad pair. Then another.

"I couldn't see because I kept running into concertina wire and I kept saying oh it's the NVGs, it's the NVGS," said Hunt.

 
In the years since the injury Hunt has had further difficulty. He has trouble remembering. While he had a foot injury during his time in the military that also effected him, his left leg goes numb.

"The brain is not talking to it. That's what they keep telling me."

For a time, he thought he had a Purple Heart, but did not. When he went to try to get special license plates, he was turned down. He learned then that he didn't have the proper paperwork. Hunt tried twice to get the proper paperwork in, but the military said there were problems. Alvarez and his group are now assisting. 

"It's unfortunate what's happened to him. I think he's a victim of a huge mistake," said Alvarez.

The organization has helped Hunt submit a new, properly sourced application for a Purple Heart.

Hunt waits.

Fiore says Forgotten Heroes checks more thoroughly now and does now give awards that are not already noted on a military member's records. Hunt did not have one.

"Forgotten Heroes Campaign didn't on purpose want to screw up this guy's life later on, I think they wanted to give him the reward. His mother was dying... And they probably rushed it and they shouldn't have."

He, too, hopes Hunt gets a Purple Heart.