A Vietnam veteran from central Iowa will receive the prestigious Bronze Star Medal this morning in a ceremony at Camp Dodge for his heroics some 35 years ago. The paperwork for Tim Morton’s honor was lost decades ago. He says the most humbling thing is that the person who put him in for the award is flying in from Tennessee to present the award.Morton is a 56-year-old retired postal worker, living in Polk City. He was a combat medic in Vietnam and is being honored for his actions on the night of August 2nd, 1967.Four soldiers were ambushed in the dark by Viet Cong on the opposite side of a river. According to an Iowa National Guard news release: “Without concern for his own safety, Morton…began to swim the fast-flowing river…subjected to intense enemy fire. Upon reaching the far side, Morton immediately began to render medical aid to the injured and continued to throughout the remainder of the night. The wounded were evacuated by helicopter the next morning. The attending physicians advised they would have died if they had not received the medical care rendered by Morton.” Morton says receiving the Bronze Star will be a great honor.Morton says he came back from Vietnam on December 7, 1967, which is exactly 35 years from today. The ceremony is scheduled for 7:45 AM at the STARC Armory. Morton recently became reacquainted with some of his old comrades via an Internet chatroom in their old unit’s website. When they learned Morton never got his medal, they reinitiated the recommendation through a U-S Congressman.
