Lawrenceburg Becomes "Purple Heart City"; Three Recipients To Be Honored

By Mike Perleberg Army Sergeant First Class Adam Dye, seen here with his children, is among three recipients of Purple Hearts who will be recognized during Lawrenceburg Fall Fest on Friday, September 25. Image provided. (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – It’s perfect timing. Three Purple Heart recipients will be honored by the City of Lawrenceburg in the same week that it becomes a Purple Heart City. Lawrenceburg City Council voted unanimously Monday to pass a proclamation declaring the city is a Purple Heart City. “Whereas, the City of Lawrenceburg, Indiana and our Community have a great admiration and the utmost gratitude for all of the men and women who have selflessly served their country and this community in the Armed Forces; and whereas, veterans have paid the highest price of freedom by leaving their families and communities, and placing themselves in harm’s way for the good of all,” the proclamation reads in part. READ THE FULL LAWRENCEBURG PURPLE HEART CITY PROCLAMATION HERE (PDF). Lawrenceburg Mayor Dennis Carr, whose father earned a Purple Heart in World War II and brother earned two while serving in Vietnam, says the declaration recognizes the service of wounded military veterans as well as those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The designation comes just in time, too. Three recipients of Purple Hearts will be recognized during a ceremony on the main stage at Lawrenceburg Fall Fest on Friday evening. Army Sgt. First Class Adam Dye is a military recruiter in Indiana. He was wounded while in action during his second tour of duty in 2006, receiving shrapnel wounds in his back from a frag grenade. Despite the wounds, Dye was a hero in saving a young Iraqi child’s life in the same event. Mel Taylor, Jr. has been a Bright resident since 1971. Before that, he served 17 months in Vietnam from 1968 through 1969. During his tour of duty, Taylor was wounded three times. He still has the scars from three bullet holes in his arms and legs.  He also received shrapnel wounds to the head. He was once stabbed in the hand by an enemy bayonet. Like Taylor, Andy Ziegler also lives in Bright and served in Vietnam. While stationed near Laos, Andy was hit by shrapnel from a fragment grenade when under attack by enemy forces in the combat zone. He also earned a Purple Heart. Below are the provided full biographies of each award recipient:   SERGEANT FIRST CLASS ADAM D. DYE Adam Dye was born November 12 1981 in Moore City, Oklahoma. He was raised in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area where he met his wife the former Ms. Brandi Dawes. He enlisted in the service after March 28, 2001, one year after completion of his GED. He attended Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training as well as Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon completion of his training in September of 2001 he was assigned to the 1St Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood Texas where he spent four and a half years and one deployment to Iraq, from January 2004 to March 2005. While in Iraq he served in Baghdad, Najaf, and Fallujah. Dye left Texas in July of 2005 for Ray Barracks in Friedberg Germany where he was assigned to the 1st Battalion 36th Infantry Regiment were he served as a Team leader and a Squad leader. He deployed to Iraq for his second tour in January of 2006 to January of 2007. In May of 2006 he was wounded in action while on patrol in Tal Afar Iraq. Dye received shrapnel wounds in my back from a fragmentation grenade. He received an Army Commendation Medal for the same event for saving a young Iraqi child’s life after he was hit. Once he redeployed back to Germany, he moved from Friedberg to Vilseck, Germany where he was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment where he served as a Weapons Squad Leader. In March of 2008 he deployed to Iraq for his third deployment. While there he served in Bagdad and D’yala province in October 2008 he returned to Germany. In February of 2009, Dye moved to Fort Benning, Georgia were he was assigned to the Maneuver Center of Excellence as a Tactics Instructor/Writer. While at Fort Benning, he taught officer candidate students the doctrinal way to conduct tactics. He also instructed the Tactics Certification Course. In June of 2011, he left Fort Benning, Georgia for Fort Wainwright, Alaska where he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment (Gimlets) as an Assistant Operations Noncommissioned Officer and a TAC Platoon Sergeant. In August 2011, he deployed to Afghanistan for his fourth Deployment. While in Afghanistan he served in Kandahar in the Panjawai District as the Battalion Tac Platoon Sergeant. In April of 2012, he returned to Alaska where he continued to serve and train until May of 2014 when he moved to Indiana to serve as a United States Army Recruiter. Adam and Brandi Dye have three beautiful children: Austin, 11; Bailey, 5; and Chloe, 1. Dye’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart Medal, Army Commendation Medal (7 oak leaf clusters), Army Achievement Medal (5 Oak Leaf Clusters), Good Conduct Medal (4th Award), National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal (3 campaign Stars), Afghan Campaign Medal (1 Campaign star) Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, NCO Professional Development ribbon with 3 Numeral, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon 5 Numeral, the NATO ISAF Ribbon, Basic Parachutist Badge and the Combat Infantrymans Badge.   MILFORD W. “MEL” TAYLOR JR. Mel was born on September 18, 1948 at the old Maple Knoll Hospital on Route 4 in Cincinnati to Bill and Rose (Krige) Taylor.  He has six brothers: Ray, Jerry, Dean, Bobby, Stevie and Dennis.  He has five sisters: Linda, Roseann, Darlene, Anna and Michelle.  Being one of twelve children was a real treat for all the kids. Mel grew up on Bridgetown Road and attended Springmyer Grade School and attended Oak Hills High School with the Class of 1966. Mel joined the United States Marines in 1967 and took basic training at San Diego Marine Base in California.  He was deployed to Vietnam and served in 1968-69 in the A Shau Valley near the city of Hue and near Laos.  He served there for 17 months with the 3/5 Marines as a Lance Corporal. While serving in Vietnam with the Marines, Mel was wounded three times and was the recipient of three Purple Hearts.  He still has the scars from three bullet holes in his arms and legs.  He also received shrapnel wounds to the head and a stab wound from an enemy bayonet in the right hand.  Mel returned to the USA in 1969 and was honorably discharged from the Marines. Mel lived in Cheviot for two years upon his return from Vietnam and then moved to Bright, Indiana in 1971 where he married his wife Penny.  They had two children: Robin and Kelly (Doug).  Mel now has four grandchildren: Brooke, Lincoln, Jacob and Ryan. Mel worked for Joseph Day Inc., Walter Schunk Trucking and Scott Grosser Trucking. Mel is proud of his service to our great nation and there are several of his fellow Marines on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Mel says we must never forget the sacrifices made by so many for our freedoms we enjoy today.   ANDY ZIEGLER Andy Ziegler was born on August 11, 1950 to Al and Evelyn Ziegler and grew up on the family farm near Elizabethtown, Ohio with his brothers; Phil, Mark and Rick, along with two sisters; Claudie and Zita.  Andy attended St. John's Grade School in Harrison and graduated from Harrison High School in 1968 and joined the United States Air Force on May 25, 1969. After basic training in Texas, Andy was sent to Combat Engineering School at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.  He was then sent to Libya, North Africa and was there when Mommar Khadifi led a revolt and took control of the country. When Khadifi took control, Andy was assigned at Ell Wa Teal Bomb Range. They were then given 24 hours to evacuate the country. Andy was then sent to Hahn Air Force Base in Germany and from there his next assignment was to Vietnam.  He was stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base near Saigon.  He spent most of his time working between the northern Central Highlands and in southern Laos. It was in Laos that Andy was wounded and received the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in a combat zone when hit by shrapnel from a fragment grenade when under attack by enemy forces. During the Spring of 1972, Andy served in the area around Kontum Air Field in Vietnam and the North Vietnamese was swinging south through I & II Corps.  The North Vietnamese overran the South Vietnamese at every artillery base and landing strip and on May 28, 1972 Andy was wounded a second time when approximately 12,000 North Vietnamese troops were overrunning the Kontum Air Field.  Andy was sent back to the USA in July and discharged as a Sergeant on September 12, 1972. Andy married Peggy Hartledge on December 19, 1974.  They have three sons; Garreett (Jess),  Adam (Valerie) and Eric.  Andy and Peggy have three grandchildren; Rowan, Wolf and Jet. They are members of the St. Teresa Catholic Church in Bright.  Andy retired as a union carpenter after 30 years with Baker Concrete. Andy and Peggy have resided in northern Dearborn County for the past 33 years.  He is currently a member of the St. Leon American Legion Post #464, Dearborn Co. DAV # 75 and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 3620. Andy recently was one of 50 veterans who accompanied P.G. Gentrup on a trip to Washington, D.C. to see the monuments and memorials.  They were at Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2015 – the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, to see the Flight 93 Memorial.  Andy enjoyed visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall) and watching the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.  He spent the day visiting many sites in D.C. Andy is proud of his four years of service in the Air Force and truly understands the meaning of the words “duty, honor, country”.