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I am a nursing student and part time jeweler, and the daughter of a Vietnam vet (US Army), and the granddaughter of one WWII vet (US Army) and one WWII/Korean War vet (US Navy). My boyfriend Cpl. Carl Cochrane served our country from 2003-2007 as a United States Marine (3rd Marine Airwing Service & Support Battalion, Military Police detachment – they provided EOD security in Iraq). On Nov. 30, 2005 he was severely injured outside Fallujah when a bomber crashed his truck into the humvee Carl was the turret gunner in. He was thrown from the humvee and hurt very badly. He lost most of the use of his left arm due to shattered bones and severed/damaged nerves, broke his leg, and had a severe head injury and now has a plate replacing almost half his skull. Two others in the vehicle were injured as well, and one was killed. Unfortunately, none of the men who were wounded were awarded Purple Hearts. Carl appealed this later and was told "No." To me it seemed like a very important thing for them to have, and I was outraged that he and the others injured didn't get one. I decided that if his government wouldn't give him what he deserved, then as a jeweler I could and would, so I set out working with a talented jeweler friend at work (I work for a major jeweler supply company) to design a very special Purple Heart just for Carl. It looks the same as the real medal, except instead of George Washington it has the USMC eagle globe and anchor. My friend at work did a wonderful job creating a CAD design and milling a wax model for me, and then I made molds and created the medal in bronze. I filled it with colored epoxy resins and had an absolutely beautiful piece to give to Carl on Valentine's Day this year. He was very, very touched by it and it meant the world to him, and to me to be able to give him that validation for what happened to him. I thought I would share this story with you along with some photos of the medal I made for my beloved Marine.
Semper Fidelis,
Jaimie Verlander
Albuquerque, NM
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