{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=13097410-6810-409a-940a-4e5fdc7f8c58", "COCHRAN JOINS TRIBUTE TO WATER VALLEY VETERAN", "2013-11-11", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WATER VALLEY, Miss. \u2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today paid tribute to a Mississippi veteran who waited more than four decades to receive Purple Heart honors he earned while serving in Vietnam.\r\nAt a Veterans Day ceremony hosted by the Veterans of Foreign War Post 4100, Cochran expressed his gratitude for the service of all veterans and joined in a tribute to James Brown of Water Valley.\u00a0 Brown was wounded in 1970 during combat action in Vietnam as a Specialist 4th Class in the Army 1st Calvary Division, but was never awarded the Purple Heart medal.\r\n\u201cWe appreciate the service and sacrifices made by all our veterans.\u00a0 We understand that the freedoms we enjoy come with a price and cannot be taken for granted,\u201d Cochran said.\r\n\u201cWe are all very pleased that Mr. James Brown is receiving the Purple Heart he earned more than 40 years ago.\u00a0 His valor in combat in Vietnam serves as testimony to us and to future generations of Americans of his commitment to defend our country, even at the risk of his own life,\u201d said the Senator, whose office helped secure service-connected benefits for Brown earlier this year.\r\nThe Purple Heart was initially created by General George Washington in 1782 as the Badge of Military Merit.\u00a0 The medal is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces who has been wounded, killed, or has died after being wounded.\r\nCochran, a U.S. Navy veteran, reiterated his belief that the nation must meet its obligations to the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces.\r\n\u201cToday, the new generation of all-volunteer veterans returning from more than a decade of sustained combat operations reminds us of our indebtedness to all our veterans and their families.\u00a0 We must continue to meet those commitments.\u00a0 It will keep our nation strong,\u201d Cochran said.\r\n\u00a0  ###", 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://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=13097410-6810-409a-940a-4e5fdc7f8c58"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7839519530534744, "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"}