Ten New York National Guard soldiers received Purple Hearts for injuries sustained in a 2024 Iranian-backed militia drone attack on a U.S. outpost known as Tower 22 in Jordan.
On Jan. 28, 2024, a drone struck the housing unit at Tower 22 as soldiers slept. The attack killed three Army Reserve soldiers and injured dozens of other service members, including the 10 New York guardsmen.
The Pentagon has released little details about the attack but the Purple Heart awards have given some insight into the soldiers assigned to the base and the size and scope of the attack.
Some of the New York guardsmen suffered traumatic brain injuries and concussions, according to Eric Durr, a spokesperson for the New York National Guard.
According to an Army press release on the award, 14 New York soldiers were stationed at Tower 22 to maintain communications equipment for the base. In all, the Jordan outpost was manned by 350 service members who were focused on reconnaissance and special forces operations as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. campaign against ISIS.
Company commander for the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion Capt. Paul Kramarz said his soldiers were part of a “hand-selected team” who “would operate at the far reaches of our area of responsibility.”
After the drone hit, NY National Guard platoon leader 1st Lt. Ian Gallagher said the housing unit looked “crinkled like a soda can.” Soldiers who came out of the attack unscathed lined up to donate blood for airmen and soldiers who were badly injured.
Army Maj. Gen. Joel “JB” Vowell, former commander of Operation Inherent Resolve, told Task & Purpose that one of the major lessons learned from the attack was the need for one-way drone defenses for smaller U.S. and partner nation military installations.
An Army report of the attack first reported by Business Insider found that the soldiers tasked with monitoring for potential drone attacks faced insufficient staffing, inadequate battle drills and confusion over leadership roles. They had also been focused on the recovery of a Scan Eagle drone and did not see the drone coming from the south. The report found the soldiers failed to pick up the drone because it was too far away, moved too slow or seemed like a bird or debris. The Pentagon originally said the attack injured nearly 40 service members but the Army report indicated that more than 100 were injured.
Purple Hearts from Tower 22
The ten guardsmen joined another reserve soldier and three airmen among service members assigned to Tower 22 who received Purple Hearts after the attack.
In October 2024, three airmen who were assigned to the 129th Rescue Wing received the Purple Heart for their injuries. The airmen had all lost consciousness after the drone hit. When they awoke, they began banging on the bedroom doors of fellow troops in case another attack was on the way. They ran to the bunker, extinguished fires that broke out, searched for fellow service members trapped in the rubble and helped to evacuate casualties. They were treated for their injuries and continued with their deployment until May 2024.
The Air Force did not explicitly say what injuries the three airmen suffered but Defense Department officials have described the majority of injuries from the attack as traumatic brain injuries and concussions.
Sgt. Aneska S. Holness was awarded the Purple Heart in December 2024 prior to leaving the military due to injuries from the attack. Holness, a wheeled vehicle mechanic for the Arizona National Guard, woke up buried under the rubble of her containerized housing unit and began pulling other soldiers out. She was medically evacuated to Germany and continued TBI treatment at Fort Bliss until her separation.
In October 2024, Army Reserve chaplain Maj. Chase Wilhelm was awarded four military honors “highlighting his service in Jordan.” Wilhelm received the Bronze Star with Valor, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Four Chaplains’ Medal.
The New York National Guard soldiers received their awards May 10 at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor, New York. The soldiers were originally scheduled to receive the awards in March, but were delayed by state mobilization orders, Durr said. In February, Gov. Kathy Kochul called in nearly 8,200 New York National Guard soldiers and airmen to fill in for correction officers at more than 40 prisons across the state who went on strike.
The ceremony was also delayed, Durr said, by the logistics of getting all 10 guardsmen together in one place at one time.
“I am honored to have received the medal, but it’s never an award we wanted to get,” Sgt. Ryan Kissoon told the Army in a release. “It’s a sad relief we made it home that day, and others didn’t.”
The soldiers who received the award were:
- Staff Sgt. David Barrientos, from Zebulon, North Carolina
- Sgt. Anthony Gist, from Floral Park
- Sgt. Ryan Kissoon, from Richmond Hill
- Sgt. Guillermo Renderos, from Yonkers
- Sgt. Jarvis Ho So, from Brooklyn
- Spc. Christian Tiburcio, from Manhattan
- Spc. Matthew Crespo, from Brooklyn
- Spc. Domingo Perez, from Brooklyn
- Spc. Junior Clarke, from Brooklyn
- Spc. Michael Branch, from Brooklyn
The Purple Heart was originally created by George Washington in 1782 to honor military merit. In the 1930s, it was given to soldiers who served in World War I and then awarded to World War II troops who were wounded or killed during combat. These awards currently give retired or separated troops certain medical benefits at Veterans Administration hospitals, federal hiring preferences and access to the Forever GI Bill.
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