Vietnam Veteran Finally Receives Purple Heart 55 Years After Combat Wound
Published on Tuesday, December 23, 2025
December 23, 2025
Media Advisory
Contact:
Parker Gavigan
Vietnam Veteran Finally Receives Purple Heart 55 Years After Combat Wound
What:
Joseph Machado, a U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran from West Warwick, will finally receive the Purple Heart Medal—55 years after he was wounded in combat.
Machado was injured during a firefight while serving in Vietnam in 1970 and was formally awarded the Purple Heart, the nation’s oldest military decoration for service members wounded or killed by enemy action. Due to an administrative oversight, however, the medal was never physically presented to him.
Senator Jack Reed’s office recently corrected the record and worked with the National Personnel Records Center to secure the long-overdue medal. Senator Reed will personally present the Purple Heart to Machado, now 78, on Tuesday.
Who:
U.S. Senator Jack Reed
Joseph Machado, U.S. Army, Vietnam Veteran (RI Veterans Home resident)
Where:
Rhode Island Veterans Home
480 Metacom Ave
Bristol
(Lobby area)
When:
Tuesday, December 23rd
2-2:30 PM