Andrew Del Gaudio keeps a scrapbook from his more than 20 years as a Marine, filled with articles, photographs and funeral notices — too many funeral notices, he says.
Del Gaudio was leading a rifle company that was ambushed in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006. Five of his fellow Marines were killed. “It’s important to me to honor their legacy and honor their memory,” Del Gaudio said. “That’s how I keep them alive in my heart.”
Del Gaudio was injured in the ambush and received a Purple Heart, the decoration awarded to service members killed or wounded in combat. He now serves as the Alabama State Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the only veterans organization made up solely of combat-wounded service members. “We have that gene in us to continue to serve,” he said.
On August 7, the Military Order of the Purple Heart will hold a community event at the Daphne Civic Center honoring those who have received the distinction. “It will be an opportunity to bring the community together, to bring awareness to what it is that our Purple Heart veterans have done,” Del Gaudio said.
The event is being held in partnership with the Mobile Bay Area Veterans Commission and the South Alabama Veterans Council. “This could really be an amazing event,” said Phil Quigley, vice president of the South Alabama Veterans Council.
Seventy Purple Heart recipients spanning generations, from World War II to Afghanistan, will be honored at the ceremony. “The greatest generation is not going to be here much longer, and we have several that we are fortunate to have coming,” Quigley said. “We have a 102-year-old from Baton Rouge that was in Okinawa. We have one coming from Missouri. How much longer are we going to see these World War Two veterans?”
Del Gaudio will serve as one of the ceremony’s keynote speakers. “Any time that we have an opportunity as an organization to go out and educate folks about the sacrifices that our service members make on a day-to-day basis, that’s why I do it,” he said.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart ceremony will take place Friday, August 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Daphne Civic Center. The event is free and open to the public, and will also include youth activities, vendors and exhibits alongside the recognition of Purple Heart recipients.