Army presents Purple Heart to Minnesota veteran 73 years after he was wounded in Korean War [Video]

After 73 years and a long fight with the U.S. Army, a Korean War veteran from Minnesota who was wounded in combat finally got his Purple Heart medal on Friday.The Army notified Earl Meyer, 96, of St. Peter, last month that it had granted him a Purple Heart, which honors service members wounded or killed in combat. Meyer, who still has shrapnel in his thigh that continues to cause him occasional pain, had the medal pinned to his chest at a ceremony at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.Afterward, Meyer recalled being at an earlier ceremony for veterans when Purple Heart honorees were asked to rise so they could be honored. Now, said Meyer, “I can stand up with them guys.”Understated and quick to deflect praise, he added: “It is nice. No doubt about that.”An Army review board had rejected Meyer’s application several times due to a lack of paperwork, …