Published Aug 10, 2026, 12:23 PM EDT
Daniel Knote was shot in 1968 while helping a wounded comrade during the war, saying he was just doing his "job."
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Published Aug 10, 2026, 12:23 PM EDT
A veteran who served in the Vietnam War has received a Purple Heart award, 58 years after serving in the conflict. Daniel Knote, a 79-year-old who served six years in the Army, was shot in the leg while he ran to help a wounded fellow soldier, Mike Beck, in February 1968. The then 21-year-old Army specialist was supposed to receive the military decoration, which is awarded to service members wounded or killed in action against an enemy. But because of a paperwork mistake, it was not listed in his files for nearly six decades. This mistake has now been corrected as Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) gave Knote the award in a special ceremony Aug. 7 at a local VFW post in Rocky Point, N.Y., to coincide with National Purple Heart Day, which honors those with the award. "I don't consider myself the hero. I did my job," Knote said at the ceremony, according to Newsday.
