​ DFW Mid-Cities Chapter #1513

The mid-cities Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter #1513, elected Michael “Mike” Pierce, a combat-wounded Vietnam Army veteran, as the first chapter commander in 2013-2015.

 

Pierce, 63, was born on an Army base in Presidio, CA, and joined the Army in March of 1969. By October of 1969, Pierce was assigned to the 101st Airborne 158th Aviation Battalion and sent to a base at Camp Evans which is just north of Hue City, Vietnam.

 

Mike Pierce has always been interested in mechanics, and as a teen worked at a gas station and an automotive machine shop rebuilding car engines.  Pierce’s job in Vietnam was as a Crew Chief on a UH-1H (Huey) helicopter. 

 

As a flying mechanic he worked and maintained the helicopter on the ground and when flying, he sat behind a machine gun.

 

In August of 1970 Mike’s tour in Vietnam ended when he was wounded in the right ankle and he took a grazing round thru his helmet and across the top of his head.  After getting out of the hospital he was reassigned back to Fort Rucker, Alabama where he finished his enlistment. In 1972, he returned home to Missouri where he went to work for Kenworth Truck Company and has worked in the highway transportation business ever since.

 

Mike is the oldest of five, and a twin, with four brothers who all joined the military. He currently lives in the mid-cities area, has two daughters and three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Mike Pierce is member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart chapter #1513, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #10454, and the Disabled American Veterans, all are organizations that support veterans. 

 

Pierce is honored to lead an organization that strives to see that veterans are recognized for their service and sacrifice.  Reflecting on his reasons for joining the Military Order of the Purple Heart, he said, “Being in combat really changes a person, and only those who have been there truly understand what it is like, I want to give those all who served in the military and received a Purple Heart, a welcoming place to reminisce about their combat experiences.”