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November 14, 2009

By Rachel Brown

Still hobbling a little with his foot and lower right leg in a brace, Spc. Anthony Landowski stood on the steps of the Whitfield County Courthouse and accepted a Purple Heart medal on Saturday.

“It was amazing,” the Ringgold resident said when asked after the ceremony what he was thinking about when he received his honor. “I was so honored.”

Landowski, a medic with the Charlie Troop detachment of Georgia’s National Guard, was injured in a blast from an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in August.

He and Spc. Andrew Sullens received Purple Hearts, the medal the military bestows on soldiers wounded in combat, during a ceremony on the courthouse steps.

The ceremony followed a parade lead off by the Wounded Warriors — four soldiers from Charlie Troop that includes Sullens, Landowski, Cpl. Nate Watson and Sgt. 1st class Jeff Boyles. All except Watson were injured in the blast in May. Watson was shot in the arm Aug. 17. The soldiers have toured Dalton all week, speaking to civic groups and in schools about their experiences. Watson and Boyles received their Purple Hearts earlier.

In fact, parade chairman John Wilson, an American Legion member, said organizers didn’t know until Thursday whether they would be able to present the medals in Dalton.

“That was kind of a difficult thing to get done,” Wilson said. “We had to get their commanding officer to (allow) them to receive it here” then go up the chain of command to have Col. Tom Carden present it to them.

Landowski’s mother, Wanda Landowski of Ringgold, said her son was on four days’ leave from treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to be in Dalton. He was still in some pain this week, she said, but wouldn’t let on about it.

“He’s a tough cookie,” she said.

Sullens said he had received the medal earlier in the year but hadn’t been presented with the certificate in all its formalities because he was still recovering. He endured seven surgeries to repair a broken pelvis among other injuries and still faces at least another three to four months of physical therapy.

Sullens said he “didn’t even really know where Dalton was” until he joined the Charlie Troop two years ago, but he received thanks and support from numerous people during his week here. He and his wife, Jill, live in Dahlonega.

Jill Sullens said she was “very proud” of her husband. “He definitely deserves it,” she said.

Organizers recognized several people who made the event possible, including Rick Brown, who oversees Operation Uplift and was a member of the parade committee.

• VFW 4985 chaplain Charles Sprowl received Veteran of the Year honors. American Legion member and parade chairman John Wilson presented the award.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” he said. Sprowl said he believed he was going up only to give the closing prayer until he was told he was receiving the honor.

The award is in its second year. A committee selects the recipient based on the nominee’s interaction with the community. This year, there were six suggested recipients, and Sprowl was selected nearly unanimously.

Wilson said Sprowl visits veterans in nursing homes and hospitals and visits widows of veterans nearly every day. The Dalton resident is 87.

“That is something for his age,” Wilson said.

The World War II veteran served in the Army from 1943-1945. He has four children and four grandchildren.

• Another Dalton soldier killed in action was honored Saturday with a wreath and a flag dedicated in his honor. Pvt. Thomas Edward Lee III, 20, died May 29 after being in an explosion while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq. His parents were unable to attend the ceremony but his grandparents, Billy and Evelyn Hobbs of Sugar Valley were present to accept the honor.

The tradition of placing flags for Whitfield’s deceased veterans began in the early 1990s. Saturday’s ceremony also including laying wreaths on the county veterans memorial, playing “Taps,” and firing a 21-gun salute.