Austin Salutes: Pair gets Purple Heart

FOB SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (KXAN) - A pair of soldiers from Central Texas has been honored for their service while serving overseas.

Austin Salutes Spc. Willis E. Slaughter, originally from Hoover, Ala. and Spc. Scott M. Simpson, from Las Vegas, were awarded the Purple Heart on Jan. 10.

Both are infantrymen with the 2nd Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade.

The pair was injured during combat operations in Kandahar province in July 2011 when an improvised explosive struck the vehicle they were riding in.

A fellow soldier was actually killed in the attack.

The Purple Heart was first established by George Washington during the Revolutionary War and was known as the Badge of Military Merit.

Since 1917 and World War I, the award has gone to military personnel wounded in action as a result of combat.

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