China Post 1 member receives Purple Heart

On April 22, President Donald Trump awarded the first Purple Heart medal of his presidency – to a member of American Legion China Post 1.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Alvaro Barrientos was wounded in action in Afghanistan in March, ultimately losing his right leg below the knee.

The ceremony was held at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where Barrientos is receiving treatment. Trump also met with a dozen other patients. Trump’s wife, Melania, and Barrientos’ wife, Tammy, were present as well.

China Post 1 is unique in The American Legion for its “exiled” status. Chartered in 1920, the post had to evacuate its home in Shanghai in the midst of the communist revolution in 1948, and has not had a permanent one since. Meetings are considered to occur “wherever two or more members meet,” according to the post.