CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Veterans and Purple Heart recipients from all walks of life are in Charleston this week for a national convention.
Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) the Ladies Auxiliary of the MOPH are holding the 88th their annual national convention at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, which began Monday and ends on Wednesday.
The annual event brings together the Commanders and delegates of the Order’s Regions, Departments, Chapters and Units from all States, Puerto Rico, and the US Trust Territory of Guam to elect the National Leadership of the Order for the upcoming year.
Francis Figueroa, a Purple Heart recipient from Fayetteville, North Carolina and Department Commander for North Carolina MOPH was one of the few hundred delegates in attendance. She spoke with MetroNews about the agenda that includes training sessions, reviewing of business of the past year, approval of new governing amendments and organizational bylaw changes, and setting an agenda for the coming year.
“Every year our national leadership changes. We will be voting on next year’s leadership. Voting on by-laws, changes to them that help the organization continue to thrive,” she said.
Figueroa, who is also Adjutant General for the MOPH Chapter in Fort Bragg, was wounded in battle in the mid-2000s as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She said she was wounded from shrapnel and called her time in the hospital following the devastating attack as ‘a scary time.’
She said she was one of the few veterans from that war in attendance in Charleston, and one of the youngest in age, but so far enjoyed the discussion from the elder veterans.
“Most of the people here have been here for years. I’ve spoken with some who have been coming since the ’80s. Just to see their perspective and how much it has changed since then to now, it has been great,” Figueroa said.
Ed ‘Tex’ Stiteler, a Purple Heart recipient from San Antonio, Texas, was one of the elder veterans in the crowd. He joined the Marines in January 1966 before going to Vietnam in September 1966. Stiteler told MetroNews about the time he was wounded on September 21, 1967. He was then evacuated to Great Lakes, Illinois and didn’t leave the hospital until April 1968.
Stiteler was also there as a vendor for the convention, as he is the President of Vietnam Battlefield Tours, which is a non-profit organization that takes Vietnam Combat Veterans back to the country every year. He said it’s been a part of his mission to get people back there, ever since he went back for the first time in 2001.
“It’s like coming full circle for a lot of them. There is a lot of PTSD, a lot of issues. If they can go back and sit there, and come to terms with that it’s a good thing,” Stiteler said.
Following his service, Stiteler said he went to Southwest Texas State University, which is now Texas State University, where he studied to become a teacher and met his wife. He said immediately after coming back into the states, it was not easy with how Vietnam Combat Veterans were treated but is happy to see ‘much better treatment’ for recent veterans.
Stiteler said every state has different benefits for Purple Heart recipients and in Texas he has received a free hunting license for life and free parking on city streets. There is even an opportunity for property tax relief.
His wish is for more recent veterans to get involved in organizations such as MOPH.
“I would encourage young veterans to get involved. VFW, DAV, Purple Heart, Vietnam Veterans of Americans, we are all suffering for membership. Mainly because these younger guys have not started coming in yet,” Stiteler said.
MOPH did not have a convention in 2020 due to COVID-19. The organization, which was formed in 1932, selected Charleston as the 2021 host several years ago and did not change the host site due to the virus. All members and their guests are staying at the Charleston Marriott Town Center.
Chartered by Congress, the MOPH is unique among Veteran Service Organizations in that all its members were wounded in combat.