WATCH — ‘Important Not to Forget’: 94-Year-Old Korean War Veteran Receives Long-Awaited Purple Heart

An American military hero in Johnson County, Kansas, is finally getting the recognition he deserves after almost 70 years of waiting.

U.S. Marine Corps and Korean War veteran Rex Comley, 94, received his long-awaited Purple Heart medal on Sunday, thanks to a kind neighbor’s determination, KSHB reported.

The veteran spent three years serving his nation, from 1951 until 1954, beginning when he was just 19, according to KMBC.

A photo shows the smiling veteran with the medal pinned on his jacket:

He was a machine gunner with the Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division when a Korean mortar round hit his position.

“The whole jacket of the machine gun was torn up, and it picked me up and set me back in the bunker about ten feet. That’s when they carried me back off the lines, and I got hit around the face. It tore this eyelid plumb down back, and they said it pitted my face. I don’t know how I figured that, but they said like 13 or 14 pieces of small shrapnel,” the veteran said, noting he was back in position not long after and shrapnel remains embedded in his face.

Lost paperwork was reportedly the reason he never received the honor for his service, but that changed when Don Puchalla, who runs a trash and recycling bin cleaning service in his area, struck up a conversation with the veteran.

Puchalla’s son was a Marine who died while in active duty, and he discovered Comley had not received his Purple Heart for his service.

Puchalla rallied local veterans’ groups and scheduled the ceremony to present him with the honor.

“I just think it’s really important not to forget…my son would be saying, ‘Heck yeah, Dad! We got to do this!'” Puchalla told KMBC.

General George Washington originally created the “Badge of Military Merit” in 1782, which was later called the Purple Heart, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Washington created the decoration to recognize regular soldiers and non-commissioned officers who demonstrated ‘not only instances of unusual gallantry in battle, but also extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way,’ during the American Revolution,” the site read.

Comley remained humble upon receiving the honor and remembered his fellow service members, stating, “To me, I think about the guys that went way above and beyond the duty, that got medals like the Bronze Star, Silver Stars, Medal of Honor. Those are the actual heroes.”

Puchalla also recognized the sacrifices members of the military have made for the United States.

“We don’t know what hard times are; they know what hard times are. They gave up all their careers, their school, to go take care of the country,” he said.