{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hill.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/arkansas-vietnam-veteran-surprised-purple-heart-bronze-medal-decades-later", "Arkansas Vietnam veteran surprised with Purple Heart, Bronze Medal decades later", "2016-12-16", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "AR", "French Hill", "H001072", "hill.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "LITTLE ROCK (KATV) \u2014\u00a0Almost fifty years after joining the army, a Vietnam veteran finally receives his purple heart.\nBob Sangalli never thought he would receive awards for his service in Vietnam. But his family had other plans in store. \"They pulled a surprise on me,\" explains Sangalli.\nWhen the war came to an end, Bob chose to return to the US--instead of waiting for his medals to be prepared in Vietnam: \"[I've] been waiting on the medals since then.\"\nHe figured they were lost in the mail: \"I thought it was the post office.\"\nAlmost fifty years later, Bob's family drove him to Congressman French Hill's office. Bob's wife Ramona, and his son-in-law Aaron say, \"We told him his son-in-law was getting an award for a project .\"\nInstead Bob was surprised with nine awards for his service--among them a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Earned, \"just by being in Vietnam, receiving a wound, and carrying on with my duties, and surviving.'\"\nWith his whole family at the ceremony, Bob's wife Ramona says the medals represent their family's appreciation: \"We certainly feel like what he did made a difference, even at the time he was in service, it wasn't a popular thing to do, but we all appreciate everything he went through.\"\nNow those medals will hang in their home to commemorate that sacrifice.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hill.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/arkansas-vietnam-veteran-surprised-purple-heart-bronze-medal-decades-later"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4488641172647476, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}