MILWAUKEE — The day before Russell Seager left the Milwaukee VA Medical Clinic to deploy to Afghanistan with an Army Reserves combat stress unit, he sent an email to his boss.
“I will miss my job so much but I will be back,” Seager wrote to Jim Bode, primary care program manager at the Milwaukee facility. “Don’t forget about me.”
His colleagues have not forgotten him. They continue to mourn the loss of Seager, who died in the Fort Hood massacre in November 2009.
And when his widow, Cindy, learned that Congress finally changed the criteria for the Purple Heart medal, awarded to military members killed or wounded in combat, she knew the only place her husband would want the ceremony.
Friday afternoon an overflow crowd of family, friends, veterans, military members, medical personnel and patients honored Seager at the Milwaukee VA as a three-star general presented the Purple Heart to his family.
Fort Hood victims originally did not qualify for the Purple Heart medal and benefits because the massacre was deemed an act of workplace violence. But through the efforts of victims, family members and others, the eligibility was changed earlier this year.
Seager, 51, was remembered as a wonderful colleague and caring mental health professional who loved helping veterans and military members at the VA’s Red Clinic, where a plaque unveiled Friday will be placed to honor his sacrifice. A nurse practitioner who earned bachelor’s and master’s in nursing degrees at Marquette University, Seager was inspired to join the Army Reserves at the age of 47 because of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Lt. Gen. Michael Tucker, commanding general of the First Army, presented Seager’s wife, son Joseph and father Vernon Seager with a framed certificate and Purple Heart medal, as well as Gold Star lapel pins.
“This ceremony has taken place far longer than it should have but it’s never too late to do the right thing,” Tucker said.
A large fountain on the grounds of the VA is traditionally opened for the season in time for the Memorial Day weekend. This year the fountain located near the building known as Old Main will be colored purple for the holiday weekend in honor of Seager.
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