NICEVILLE, FLORIDA - From Walter Reed Medical Center where he was recovering from injuries suffered in the blast of an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan, then Brig. Gen. Patterson Maney learned last fall he had received a special Freedom Award from Freedom Newspaper’s Northwest Florida Daily News.

With the award came a $1,000 prize that Maney knew exactly how he wanted to use: establish the Purple Heart Scholarship Fund at Okaloosa-Walton College. His older brother, Edward Maney, who also earned the Purple Heart Medal after being wounded in combat in Southeast Asia almost 35 years ago to the day, made sure the $1,000 got to the OWC Foundation until his younger brother arrived home from Walter Reed this spring.

In the quiet of his Shalimar courthouse judge’s chambers, County Judge T. Patterson Maney, who has now retired from the Army Reserve after 37 years of service, related how he is named for his mother’s brother who trained at Eglin Field before World War II and before being shot down at Anzio, Italy and killed. Maney also has had time to reflect on the incident in Afghanistan, which almost took his life, his months of recovery at Walter Reed, and "all the real heroes. There are incredible young soldiers both in theater and at places like Walter Reed."

Maney pondered his place in history and the long line of service to our republic. " I am a descendant of several American Revolutionary War soldiers," Maney says.

"Sergeant Reuben Plunkett, my great, great, great, great grandfather was wounded September 18, 1778 in New Jersey serving with Captain Churchill Jones’ Company, 3rd Regiment of Light Dragoons under Colonel George Baylor. My late father was an officer in World War II and my late grandfather was a sergeant in World War I but neither of them were wounded. My wife’s grandfather was wounded in World War I and, although her father served as a medical officer in World War II, was never wounded."

The Purple Heart is the oldest US military decoration and traces its history to awards presented by General George Washington. Maney says "We’ve got a lot of Purple Heart recipients from World II, Korea, Vietnam and now Iraq and Afghanistan just in our two counties. It seems to me, as patriotic as our two counties are, there should be some interest in recognizing the service and sacrifice of Purple Heart holders and their descendants. President Abraham Lincoln committed us "to care for him who shall have born the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan."

One individual who has taken up the challenge to raise contributions for the Purple Heart Scholarship is former Fort Walton Beach City Councilman Jim Tucker, a Purple Heart recipient in Southeast Asia. "It is an honor to carry on for Patt and encourage others to make the scholarship a success," said Tucker, who will make his appeal to the local Military Order of the Purple Heart for support of the $12,000 goal that the state will match dollar-for-dollar.

OWC President Dr. Bob Richburg said he has spoken with Maney and hopes the community will step forward to complete the fund raising. "I salute his efforts to have the Purple Heart Scholarship become a permanent endowment supporting children and grandchildren of Purple Heart recipients who want to attend OWC. We are humbled by Judge Maney’s heroism and the honor he affords our college to administer the Purple Heart Scholarship."

Maney thought back for a moment to that day in what he called "the kill zone" and the "huge bright red and black blast" that tore through his armoured SUV in the almost serene Afghanistan valley in August 2005. His five-vehicle convoy had been inspecting sites for a water project when the explosion heaved the SUV and its occupants up in the air and them slammed them back down.

"We all knew what had happened. The immediate question was what should we do next? Was it just an IED attack or were we in an ambush?" recalled Maney, who was riding in the backseat of the fourth vehicle in the convoy. "Three vehicles went ahead and the fifth car pulled up next to us and was a security vehicle with "shooters." We bailed out of our vehicle and crawled into the cargo compartment of the Land Cruiser and left the kill zone as quickly as possible."

Maney’s team sped to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul from which he was transferred to a German Army Field Hospital. He was eventually flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. It was there he underwent months of therapy for injuries from the concussion of the IED blast. "It takes time to re-engage," he said.

"I suppose you could call it a legacy. Service to our country runs in the family and sooner or later someone is going to get hurt," said Maney somberly, thinking back on his lengthy deployments during the 1990s as a Civil Affairs officer to international hotspots like Bosnia, Haiti, Panama and Afghanistan.

Maney prefers to think of the events as "a series of growing opportunities that provided me with insights into nations and national policy. Getting to know the thoughts of people in these countries and of the sacrifices of our service members and their families make me a better judge."

County Judge T. Patterson Maney, who has now retired from the Army Reserve after 37 years of service, is pictured with his Purple Heart.