![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MilitaryOrderOfThePurpleHeart_CombatWoundedVeterans_HonoringServiceMembers_MemorialStructure07_08.07.jpeg\")
Two-time Purple Heart recipient Tony Roman speaks to fellow service and community members during Bexar County\u2019s National Purple Heart Day ceremony at Military Plaza on Aug. 7, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\nTony Roman has two Purple Hearts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a slow learner,\u201d he said. \u201c I didn\u2019t learn the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The San Antonio native arrived in Da Nang, Vietnam on July 26, 1969. He met a buddy in boot camp, Melvin Lloyd.<\/p>\n
The two would joke that when they got back to the \u201creal world,\u201d they would try Lloyd\u2019s grandma\u2019s gumbo. He said it was the best in the world.<\/p>\n
They parted ways, each heading off with his own unit. Three days later, Lloyd\u2019s convoy was ambushed. His last words to Roman had been a reminder about trying the gumbo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just four days later on Aug. 2, Roman\u2019s company had waited until nightfall to sneak up to the top of a hill. Around midnight, they started to take fire.<\/p>\n
Two-time Purple Heart recipient Tony Roman speaks to fellow service and community members during Bexar County\u2019s National Purple Heart Day ceremony at Military Plaza on Aug. 7, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Roman heard a thump by his leg. He looked down and kicked the grenade lying at his feet. It exploded seconds later. The blast injured him, but he said if the grenade had landed three inches away from where it did, he would be dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was his first Purple Heart. The second one came not even a month later.<\/p>\n
His company was deep in the jungle, in what they called the \u201cArizona territory\u201d because firefights happened so often.<\/p>\n
He said everything went quiet, his hair stood up on the back of his neck and he knew an ambush was about to begin.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will never understand a firefight. How loud it is. You smell gunpowder, you smell blood,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a smell you never ever forget.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was shot in his left inner elbow; the scar is still visible today. <\/p>\n
That was his second Purple Heart.<\/p>\n
San Antonio\u2019s Purple Heart community<\/p>\n
Today, Roman is grateful he made it back to the \u201creal world.\u201d Every year he celebrates his \u201clife date\u201d on Aug. 2.<\/p>\n
On National Purple Heart Day on Friday, <\/strong>he gathered with other local veterans for a ceremony to honor U.S. service members who have been wounded or killed in combat.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MilitaryOrderOfThePurpleHeart_CombatWoundedVeterans_HonoringServiceMembers_MemorialStructure08_08.07.jpeg\")
The Purple Heart Monument at Military Plaza in downtown San Antonio near the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MilitaryOrderOfThePurpleHeart_CombatWoundedVeterans_HonoringServiceMembers_MemorialStructure11_08.07.jpeg\")
Names of Purple Heart recipients are etched into the Purple Heart Monument near the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center at Military Plaza in downtown San Antonio. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n