U.S. Senator Joni Ernst will speak at the Guthrie County Memorial Day Celebration, awarding an Iowa veteran with a Purple Heart. The Purple Heart medal is presented to members of the military who were wounded or killed because of enemy action while serving. Currently, a resident of Bayard, Dustin Teays joined the United States Army Reserve during his junior year of high school, serving from Sept. 2011 to Sept. 2019. Teays went to basic training (BT) right out of high school, then received notification during BT that his unit would be deploying in December. Teays describes the incident during his deployment, which awarded him this honor 11 years later.
Teays and his unit were medevaced out, and they all stayed in the hospital for a few days for further evaluation. After getting cleared, Teays returned to finish the few months left of the deployment with restrictions. Teays says that after returning home, he got back to living his normal life and never really thought about pursuing this award.
Teays will receive the Purple Heart medal during the Guthrie County Memorial Day Service at the Veterans Auditorium at 115 West Main St. in Panora. The event is open to the public, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
