Purple Heart awarded for World War I veteran Everett Summers

Tuesday, February 26, 2008
San Pedro Valley News-Sun
By Adam Bernal

It has been the end of a long journey for St. David resident Shirley Gillette, who last week received the Purple Heart that should have been given to her grandfather, wounded in action almost 90 years ago during World War I.

The medal was presented to Gillette, a St. David first-grade teacher, last week by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Gillette had been researching her grandfather, Everett L. Summers, for years. Summers had fought with the U.S. Army’s 113th field artillery and was wounded in France’s Argonne Forest in World War I.

After signing up for the Army in Bisbee in 1917, Summers was sent into action a year later and was injured on Sept. 30 1918. He died in 1955 without ever receiving the Purple Heart he earned that September in France.

Gillette’s research turned up a military medical record needed to show that her grandfather was wounded in action. When she learned that one of the main documents she needed burned in a fire in St. Louis, the chances looked bleak, she said.

Despite the setback, Gillette said it was too important to her father and her to simply quit on getting the medal that easily.

“It was important to my dad that my grandfather was honored and receive the Purple Heart,” Gillette said.

About two years ago, through the help of a librarian at North Carolina University, Gillette said she learned where to find a document that had her grandfather’s service number, which stated he had been wounded in action with shrapnel in his legs. When she received the document last October, it was overwhelming since there was no doubt it was the missing piece they had been looking for, she said.

In what she described as her first-ever medal ceremony, Giffords awarded Gillette the Purple Heart Medal and the World War I Victory Medal. There was no doubt that recognizing and honoring the efforts made by Everett Summers was grossly overdue, she said.

“I truly regret that it has taken this long to acknowledge his service and his sacrifices,” Giffords said during the medal ceremony.

As a member of the House Armed Services committee, Giffords said she acknowledges the many contributions and sacrifices by the men and women in the U.S. military. After also honoring Green Valley resident Joseph Schechter at the ceremony for his military service in World War II, she said it was exciting to meet the families of these servicemen in person.

“It was a real privilege and honor to meet these families,” Giffords said.

With her grandfather finally receiving the Purple Heart, Gillette said she was grateful for the help of Dan Gibson, director of Human Resources at Fort Huachuca, for encouraging her to keep up her search. His advice on steps she needed to take and how to properly submit information were invaluable, she said.

In what she described as the end of a long road, Gillette said she was glad to be able to keep the promise she made to her father and also become closer to the grandfather she was never able to meet.

“It was like the closing chapter,” Gillette said, describing her feelings on finally achieving her goal. “It also brought me closer to my grandfather since I never knew him.”

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