Patchogue Soldier Gets the Silver Star Award

Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Loheide, a resident of Patchogue, received the Silver Star award Friday for helping evacuate wounded troops during a June 2010 mission in Afganistan.

According to New York Daily News, Loheide said that the entire platoon deserves credit for delivering the injured soldiers safely to helicopters after a bomb was dropped. Loheide himself was among those badly hurt when marking a landing zone for the aircraft.

"It was a culmination of training and bravery of the men of the platoon," Loheide said in the report.

Loheide received the award at a ceremony at Fort Campbell on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line.

According to a Newsday report on the same ceremony, Loheide experienced a traumatic brain injury from the bomb explosion during the mission that affects his short-term memory. Loheide now works with the Army's Warrior Transistion Comand, which assists wounded soldiers in their recovery.

For more details, click here for the report from the New York Daily News or click here for the Newsday (subscription) report.