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Military Order of the Purple Heart Announces 2009 Purple Heart Scholarship Winners
MOPH Announces 2009 Educational Scholarship Winners
The Military Order of the Purple Heart is pleased to announce today that 83 applicants will be awarded Purple Heart Educational Scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year.
The MOPH Scholarship Program is funded annually by a grant from the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation. This year, competition for award of a $3,000 scholarship was keen, with over 400 applicants vying for the awards. After considerable review, MOPH scholarships were awarded to 38 Purple Heart recipients, 5 spouses, 20 children, 18 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren, all lineal descendents of MOPH members.
The single applicant selected as “Most Deserving,” receives an additional $2,000 scholarship awarded in the name of U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, a Medal of Honor recipient, and leader of a US Navy SEAL Team who was killed in action in the mountains of Kunar Province, Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. This scholarship is awarded in his memory by the Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, USN, Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Riverhead New York.
This year’s recipient is Staff Sergeant Peter Milinkovic, an extraordinary young man who received Meritorious Combat promotions to Corporal, Sergeant, and Staff Sergeant, two Navy Commendation Medals for Valor, the Navy Achievement Medal, and much more. He was awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds received on 23 March 2004, while serving in Iraq as a Squad Leader, 3rd Battalion 7th Marines. In August, 2004, he was awarded the Golden Eagle Trophy as “Marine Corps Leader of The Year” by the Marine Corps Association. In June 2007, Staff Sergeant Milinkovic was selected for the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Program (MECEP), and is now a student at Parkland College, Champaign, IL, where he is a Psychology Major. Upon graduation, he will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart especially wants to thank the members of the Scholarship Committee, and is particularly grateful to the Service Foundation for the generous grant that makes possible this extraordinary Scholarship Program.
To apply for a Military Order of the Purple Heart Scholarship, interested applicants should go to the National Military Order of the Purple Heart website for eligibility criteria and an application form.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) is unique among Veteran Service Organizations in that all its members were wounded in combat. For this sacrifice, they were awarded the Purple Heart Medal. With grants from the MOPH Service Foundation, the MOPH and its Ladies Auxiliary promote Patriotism, Fraternalism, and the Preservation of America's Military History. Most importantly, they provide comfort and assistance to all Veterans and their families, especially those requiring claims assistance with the VA, those who are homeless, and those requiring employment assistance. MOPH volunteers provide assistance to Hospitalized veterans at VA sites and State Veterans Homes
For information contact:
National Senior Vice Commander Jim Sims, 360-791-1401
or
National Public Relations Director, John Bircher, 352-753-5535
Email: PublicRelations@Purpleheart.org
Web: www.purpleheart.org
