Waterloo Vietnam Veteran Receives Silver Star 42 Years After Service

WATERLOO-A Vietnam veteran promised a Silver Star for gallantry in action was finally awarded the medal Monday, 42 years after he served.

Terry Shoopman, 65, of Waterloo, was presented with the award by Sen. Tom Harkin during a ceremony at Hawkeye Community College surrounded by family and friends. The event followed a meeting Harkin had with student veterans.

The award is for an August 1969 incident in northwestern Vietnam near the Cambodian border, when Shoopman was a 22-year-old staff sergeant.

Harkin noted that Shoopman volunteered to direct soldiers after his platoon leader was killed in an attack. "He attended to the wounded, checked ammunition supplies," said Harkin, amidst "heavy, heavy artillery fire from the enemy." He added that Shoopman "later sustained a serious injury but refused treatment" until all the men were evacuated.

"We all know the United States Army's recent slogan is ‘Be all you can be,'" said Harkin. But he joked that another motto was appropriate for the day's gathering: "Better late than never."

Harkin noted that Shoopman first came to his office about the promised medal in 2006. "It's taken this long to get this done,"

Shoopman was grateful to finally receive the award. "I owe a lot to Army buddies," he said. "They wrote letters. I wanted to give up long ago. They wouldn't."

He urged those in the audience who have served in the military and need assistance to get in touch with the Veterans Administration and veterans' organizations.

"And stay in touch with the Army buddies," he added. "That's worth a million bucks."

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

Thumbnail photo by Rich Chase, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.