Cochiti Pueblo governor's lost Vietnam-era medals replaced

Last week, at a ceremony at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial in Albuquerque, former Cochiti Pueblo Gov. and U.S. Marine Corps and Vietnam veteran Dr. Joseph Suina was presented with service medals he earned through his service by the office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich.

Heinrich also spoke on the Senate floor about Suina’s military service in the Vietnam War and about his lifetime of service in Cochiti Pueblo and as a professor at the University of New Mexico’s College of Education and director of the Institute for American Indian Education.

Heinrich helped retrieve the replacement service medals that Suina earned during his Marine service in the 1960s that were lost when his house was broken into during the 1970s. The medals included the Purple Heart, which is awarded to U.S. service members wounded or killed as the result of enemy action.

Heinrich's office said military medals are an important way to honor and recognize the service, accomplishments and valor of service members and veterans. However, it says, the process to replace lost or stolen medals can be "unnecessarily" bureaucratic and delayed. Heinrich has a Medal Retrieval Assistance program to help New Mexico veterans like Suina and their family members navigate and speed up this process.

"The legacy of Dr. Suina’s life of service to Cochiti Pueblo, to New Mexico, and to our nation will be felt for generations to come," Heinrich said. "And today, I would also like to recognize Dr. Suina’s service to our nation as a Marine. In the early 1960s, just three days out of high school, Dr. Suina enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He went on to serve two tours of duty in Vietnam in 1964 and 1966. He was wounded in his second tour and earned a Purple Heart on March 22, 1966. He was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. Tomorrow, Dr. Suina’s friends and family members are gathering at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial in Albuquerque to recognize his service to the nation. I am honored to have helped play a role in retrieving the medals that Dr. Suina earned as a Marine and that he will receive at that gathering."

Suina also earned the following awards:

• Combat Action Ribbon
• Marine Corps Good Combat Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
• Vietnam Service Medal
• Rifle Sharpshooters Badge
• Pistol Expert Badge.

"I was deeply honored to help retrieve these medals that recognize Dr. Suina’s incredible bravery and sacrifices," Heinrich said. "I also want to commend Dr. Suina for the ways that he has raised the visibility of the physical and often invisible wounds that impact veterans with PTSD. In recent years, Dr. Suina has spoken about how he saw these wounds in himself, in his fellow Vietnam veterans, and in veterans of his father’s generation who served in World War II. Many of these veterans came home with trauma that went unrecognized. I am so appreciative that Dr. Suina is working to bring a recognition and healing to himself and to his fellow veterans. And on behalf of so many New Mexicans and Americans, I want to express just how profoundly grateful we are for Dr. Suina’s lifetime of courage and service."