Senator Feinstein awards two purple hearts

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) enters the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center for awards presentation to two veterans of the Iraq war.
Photo(s) by Stephen Dorian Miner

By Lara Moscrip, Bay City News Service

August 24, 2006

Sen. Dianne Feinstein awarded today two members of the California National Guard the Purple Heart decoration at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeff L. Gidley officiated at the ceremony.

The two men, Sgt. Arne Eastlund of Orangevale, Calif. and Spc. Evan Bozajian of Oceanside, Calif. were recognized for their service and the injuries they sustained while on duty in Iraq.

Sgt. Eastlund reenlisted shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks after 17 years as a civilian, spokesman Steve Tokar said. On June 5, 2005, as his convoy drove toward Baghdad, his truck hit a roadside bomb and Sgt. Eastlund suffered cuts to his leg, face and permanent hearing loss in his right ear.

Spc. Bozajian was serving his first tour of duty in Iraq as a gunner in a Humvee on patrol on a road south of Baghdad when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. The Humvee rolled over and caught fire with him trapped inside. Spc. Bozajian was rescued from the wreck by a fellow soldier, but he suffered injuries to his back, hip, left leg and extensive nerve damage. He will likely undergo surgery in November.

Senator Feinstein met with the director of the San Francisco VA Medical Center, Sheila Cullen, and spoke with physicians about recent research and patient care.

Feinstein spoke privately with veterans receiving care for Parkinson's disease, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and neurodegenerative diseases. The senator also took a tour of the medical facility.

In her remarks during the awards ceremony, Feinstein noted that more men and women of the California National Guard are serving on the front lines than in the past 50 years.

The senator said 21 state Guard members have been killed in Iraq as of spring of this year.

Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####