OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WECT) – Nearly 60 years after a grenade fragment lodged near the nerves in his arm during combat in Vietnam, Robert Cloninger has been selected to represent North Carolina in the Purple Heart Patriot Project.
Cloninger, who enlisted in the Marines in 1967 at 20 years old, was selected from hundreds of nominees for the multi-day trip, which will include visits to historic sites like the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a private tour of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, and the 9/11 Memorial.
“It’s like you signed a blank check to put your life on the line to go fight for the freedoms that we enjoy,” Cloninger said…