4 Soldiers Receive Purple Hearts

Four U.S. soldiers injured during a bloody Taliban uprising at a fortress in Afghanistan received Purple Hearts from the commanding general of Army Special Forces at a U.S. military hospital in Germany on Saturday.

Honoring the four in a ceremony in a small room at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey C. Lambert said they “have given their blood fighting in the war against terrorism.”

“We’ll do everything we can to stamp it out,” he said. Twenty observers, including a few family members, were present.

The Special Forces troops were wounded by an errant U.S. missile during an uprising last week by Taliban prisoners detained at a fortress outside the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

A fifth serviceman wounded in the three-day battle has chosen to receive his Purple Heart with family members when he returns to the United States. He was identified only as Staff Sgt. Mike, a combat controller in the Air Force Special Operational Command.

The five suffered wounds ranging from broken bones to ruptured eardrums. A CIA officer identified as Johnny “Mike” Spann was killed during the battle, the only known U.S. combat casualty in Afghanistan.

After three days, the uprising was suppressed, with most of the Taliban prisoners killed.

At a news conference after Saturday’s ceremony, the soldiers declined to comment on how the missile strike went wrong.