Guardians of Democracy
The Purple Heart Foundation prides itself in recognizing military service members throughout the years. The United States military, law enforcement and first responders are an essential part of this country as they give their lives for our freedom and our safety. This past year has been very tough for everyone due to COVID-19, but it has been especially hard on our essential workers. The Purple Heart Foundation would like to extend a heart-warming thank you to these guardians for protecting our freedom and ensuring our safety. During this Black History Month, we recognize Eugene Goodman for his heroic efforts on Jan 6, 2020 during the attack on the capital building.
Eugene Goodman was born and raised in the Southside of Washington D.C. in the 1980’s. Goodman had humble upbringings and graduated from Central High School in Capitol Heights in 1999. Many of his teachers have come out expressing how truly proud they are of him. They described him as a quiet, helpful, and well-mannered student. It is said that, without even knowing it, he took on the role of peacekeeper at a young age by breaking up fights in the lunchroom on occasion. “To save this country, I mean for this person to save this country, I just feel so connected,” one of his teachers, Mr. Banks, expressed through tears.
Not long after, Goodman joined the United States Army, serving from 2002 to 2006. During his time in service, he was part of the 101 st Airborne Division, serving in the Iraq War. He left the military as a Sergeant to later join US Capitol Police in 2008. His former unit XVII Airborne Corps said he was a hero long before the incident on Jan 6. He is truly a guardian of his city, from a very young age.
On Jan 6 th , 2021, our Democracy was attacked by rioters. Shock and disbelief are among some of the reactions that most people had, as everyone watched live on national television as the United States Capitol building was being breached. At the time, both the House and Senate Chambers we’re in the middle of certifying the official win of President elect Joe Biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris.
The world watched in shock and prayed for the safety of everyone inside as the unimaginable happened at the Capitol that day. It seemed like a movie that went on for hours. All those defending our democracy that day are heroes, but after getting a closer look at personal videos, security footage and more, one hero stood out, and his name was Eugene Goodman.
As Goodman saw the rioter’s approach his location, without a doubt, he took matters into his own hands and tried to diverge the crowd in front of him away from the Senate Chamber while calling for back up in another part of the Capitol. Eugene used himself as bate, knowing that they were only feet away from the Senate Chambers where Vice President Mike Pence and over 100 other officials prepared for the worst. Eugene Goodman’s actions that day may have save their lives, and for that he was recognized worldwide, and awarded the Army’s Distinguished Public Service Award. Both Republican and Democratic politicians, have commended Goodman for single-handedly taking action and preventing a bigger tragedy than what they had already been living.
Following the incident on Jan 6 th , 2021, Eugene Goodman’s actions that day have been highly recognized worldwide, and for those actions was awarded the Army’s Distinguished Public Service Award. Lawmakers have also proposed a bill to award Capital Police Officer Eugene Goodman with the Congressional Gold Medal; one of the highest awards a civilian can receive. As grateful as he is, it is reported that he is also afraid he might be targeted by extremists and said he would do the exact same thing again. During the Presidential Inauguration, Goodman got to escort Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to the stage. He was promoted to Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate and was announced as such during the Inauguration where he received a standing ovation.
Eugene Goodman has become a household name since that very day. His courageous actions protected not only the people inside the U.S. Capital building, but also everything it stands for, as a symbol of democracy which is the very base of our country. Eugene Goodman goes down in history not only as a great human being but as a guardian of the city of Washington D.C. The Purple Heart Foundation is proud to recognize him as an outstanding member of society for his selfless acts, not only on Jan 6th but throughout his career. Men and women like Eugene, are the ones that keep our country safe and give us the freedom we take for granted every day. So, we thank you, Eugene Goodman, for your bravery, valor, and lifetime of service to this great nation.
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Goodman_(police_officer)
Daniel Prigge: Surviving the Hits
The Purple Heart Foundation connects with Purple Heart recipients to share their unforgettable stories of valor. Here on the Purple Heart Foundation blog, you will read about the personal experiences of some of our heroes. These veterans have proudly served and sacrificed to protect our nation. Daniel Prigge is one of them…he is lucky to be alive, and proud to share his story to inspire others to keep carrying on.
“My name is Daniel Prigge, I served a little over 10 years in the US Army. I was wounded on May 03, 2011. My vehicle was struck by three EFP roadside bombs. My convoy was hit with a total of five EFP’s and one EFP that did not go off. My truck was also hit by an RPG and small arms fire during the ambush.
I was on a small fourteen-man team that was PSD (Protective Service Detail) for the general in charge of the pull out of Iraq. On May 2nd, the general took a helicopter flight to a meeting right outside of Baghdad, Iraq. The next day, my team was on the way to pick him up and bring him back to our FOB (Forward Operating Base). We were on the outskirts of Baghdad on a route that had a fence line on the left side and a canal on the right side. We were using RG33L trucks – a mine-resistant light armored vehicle built longer than the RG-33 to hold twice as many people – due to how many people we would have to escort from place to place. We were traveling down the route when suddenly I see an RPG hit the front of my truck…seconds later I felt an explosion to the left side of my vehicle.
I was the truck commander of the convoy, I was knocked out from the explosion and had sustained injuries of a shifted spine, both knees completely blown out and dislocated, left hemiparesis, broken nose, intestinal problems, brain leakage as well as shrapnel hitting my eye and destroying my optic nerve.
After the explosion, our convoy was still under fire. I looked at the vehicle behind me and saw that the truck was burning on fire with my guys inside. Our coms were not working due to the explosion, I came-to, dismounted the truck and directed four guys including myself to bound in teams of two back to the burning vehicle. The burning vehicle was about three hundred meters behind us. The first and second truck in the convoy were not able to turn around and get us out of the kill zone due to the fence and the canal on the route. My team bounded three hundred meters and helped get the other guys on the team out of the burning vehicle. We were still under contact, but by this time we received help from the Iraqi Special Operations unit. We finally secured the kill zone about fifteen minutes into the fire fight.
I took off my helmet and that is when the back of my head swelled up. I wasn’t aware that the entire time, my helmet was acting as a make-shift compression bandage. So, once I took the helmet off, my head expanded, and I passed out on the ground next to an Iraqi Army truck. Due to the unexploded ordinance still hot in the kill zone it took the MEDEVAC helicopter three hours to land to take the wounded to the nearest FOB. I went through over fifty surgeries including back surgery, six knee surgeries to put cadavers and to put my tibia and fibula back together. My fibula is cut in half due to it completely dislocating.
I retired from the Army in 2015 and now own a Max Muscle Sports Nutrition store in Green Bay, Wisconsin. My awards include Iraqi Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, Army commendation Medal (4th award), Purple Heart (2nd award), Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal (3rd Award), National Defense Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantry Badge, Expert Infantry Badge, Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge, CLS, Combatives level 3 and Tiger Swan qualified.“
Daniel Prigge, US Army, Retired, Purple Heart Recipient
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