Gov. Palin to help launch Launch Operation Denali

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is joining forces with the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) Service Foundation to help the organization launch Operation Denali 2009, an expedition by wounded American heroes to successfully climb to the summit of 20,320 ft. Mt. Denali, the highest peak in North America. The team has spent more than a year making intensive preparations for the assault on the mountain peak.

MOPH National Commander Jeff Roy and Gov. Palin will hold a joint press conference May 30 at VFW Post 10252 in Anchorage. Commander Roy will introduce the members of this team of extraordinary warriors who are living symbols of the strength of the Nation and those who defend it.

Gov. Sarah Palin [will be] presenting a Purple Heart Medal to Wayne Stackhouse, an Anchorage resident, for wounds he received in Vietnam on 25 October 1967 when his unit came under attack by the Viet Cong. Stackhouse, who was assigned to Co C, 4th Bn., 23d Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division, was on an operation as an infantry radio mechanic near Chu Chi, Vietnam, when he was struck several times by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade. After receiving medical treatment in Vietnam, he was medically evacuated to Japan and finally to Ft. Knox, Kentucky where he was ultimately discharged from the U.S. Army on 10 May 1968. At the time of his discharge, his military records did not reflect his receipt of the Purple Heart.

Earlier this year, Stackhouse approached Forrest Powell, a National Service Officer with the Military Order of the Purple Heart, whose job it is to assist veterans in receiving their benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs. He asked Powell to assist him in correcting his military records to reflect receipt of the Purple Heart, which would automatically entitle Stackhouse to additional benefits.

This Saturday, 40 years after being wounded on the battlefield, Wayne Stackhouse will finally receive his Purple Heart Medal. Governor Palin will pin the decoration on Stackhouse, while Commander Roy will also award him the Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze stars, another decoration he earned but never received.

The team plans to depart Anchorage June 1 for the Denali Base Camp, where they will begin their ascent, which is expected to take 3 weeks to complete. The Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, which is the primary sponsor of Operation Denali, is also providing the team with a satellite telephone for interviews and communications during its climb.

- JP