Vietnam veteran gives his Purple Heart to Trump in North Carolina for his response to first assassination attempt

The former marine, identified as Dwight, appeared at Trump’s campaign event at Brown Hall in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Friday. The veteran explained he was deeply moved by Trump's resilience following the failed assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna who moderated the event, read a letter that was sent to Trump by the veteran on stage, according to the New York Post. Afterward, Dwight handed Trump an envelope containing the Purple Heart he earned during his service in Vietnam.

“Dear President Trump, watching you during the Butler rally, and you getting back up, both my wife and I gave a sigh of relief as well as a few tears,” the letter said.

“I would be honored if you would accept this small token I received as a young marine in Vietnam,” it continued. “My wife and I both thought it appropriate. God bless you, your family, and the United States of America. Sincerely, Dwight.”

When Trump first received the envelope, he joked, “Whoa, looks like a check,” until Luna clarified that it contained Dwight’s Purple Heart.

“I couldn’t think of anybody more deserving of a Purple Heart,” Dwight told the former president. Purple Hearts are awarded to US service members who are wounded or killed as a result of enemy action.

“You took it. You laid down there. You got back. And the first words out of your mouth was ‘fight, fight, fight,’” Dwight explained, praising Trump’s actions after the assassination attempt.

During the July 13 incident, Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally, injuring Trump and two other attendees. Corey Comperatore, a local firefighter, was killed during the attack. Crooks was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper moment later. Trump sustained a minor injury, a bloody ear, but the outcome could have been far worse.

“You didn’t even have anything to shoot back at him,” Dwight said. “You got guts.”

“It was a minor wound, but it was close to being a terrible one,” Dwight said, to which Trump responded, acknowledging he was “very lucky” before suggesting it may have been divine intervention.

“And maybe it wasn’t so much luck. Maybe it is something else, right? Maybe there’s something else up there,” Trump said.

Dwight also mentioned that he received a “beautiful letter” in response from Trump, saying, “I never expected that from the President of the United States.”