Brick WWII Veteran Receives His Purple Heart, Seven Decades Later

Daniel Passarella, who turns 90 in August, was injured in the Invasion of Normandy

Daniel A. Passarella says he didn't really give it much thought at first. "I sent a letter to the War Department a month after I was discharged, and they sent me all my medals except the Purple Heart," said Passarella, a Brick Township resident. "I didn't really care at that time because I was just glad I was back." That changed, however, one day when Passarella was sitting at his grandson Jack's baseball game. "There were two boys there, with one dad, and the one boy said to the other, 'My dad has a Purple Heart.' That's when I realized it matters," he said. And Thursday, surrounded by much of his family, Passarella finally received his Purple Heart in a ceremony at the office of Rep. Chris Smith, who represents New Jersey's Fourth …

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