WOODBRIDGE — A soldier with ties to both Stafford and Prince William counties received a Purple Heart during a Dec. 19 ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Army PFC Derek Derose 20, of Stafford County, was injured by an improvised explosive device while on patrol with his unit near Beni Zaid, Iraq on Oct. 17, 2008.
“People are always telling me I’m lucky,” he said. “Lucky doesn’t cut it. I’m straight up blessed. This is the fourth time I’ve been involved in an IED. This is definitely the ace of spades.”
WOODBRIDGE — A soldier with ties to both Stafford and Prince William counties received a Purple Heart during a Dec. 19 ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Army PFC Derek Derose 20, of Stafford County, was injured by an improvised explosive device while on patrol with his unit near Beni Zaid, Iraq on Oct. 17, 2008.
“People are always telling me I’m lucky,” he said. “Lucky doesn’t cut it. I’m straight up blessed. This is the fourth time I’ve been involved in an IED. This is definitely the ace of spades.”