In the News

Two Army soldiers who were shot outside a Little Rock recruiting center six years ago were awarded Purple Hearts on Wednesday, one of them posthumously.

It took an act of Congress to allow the medals to be awarded to Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula of Jacksonville and the late Pvt. William Andrew “Andy” Long of Conway. Army officials presented the medals to Ezeagwula and Long’s father, Daris Long, in a ceremony at the state Capitol.

Elected officials in attendance included Gov. Asa Hutchinson; Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin; U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, both R-Ark.; and U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock. Boozman spearheaded the effort to change federal law so that soldiers killed in acts of terrorism on U.S. soil could qualify for Purple Hearts — an effort that included testimony by Daris Long before a Senate committee.

The Army said earlier this year it would award Purple Hearts to Ezeagwula and Long, as well as the victims of the Nov. 5, 2009, mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

Ezeagwula was wounded and Long was killed when Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, a Memphis native then living in Little Rock, opened fire on them on June 1, 2009. Muhammad, now serving a sentence of life in prison without parole, has said he considered the shooting an act of war, or jihad, against the U.S. and has admitted that two years before the shooting he traveled to Yemen, where he had discussions with members of al-Qaida about attacking American soldiers.

During Wednesday’s ceremony, Daris Long recalled that he once cut short a phone call from his son, who was in training, because he was busy. He said he later wrote to his son to apologize and promise that from then on he would always be there when his son needed him.

“I also promised Quinton and his mother that I would not give up trying to get the recognition he deserved,” he said. “This was never just about getting the Purple Heart for our son and Quinton. It was about keeping that promise to Andy. It was about accurately identifying what really happened here in Little Rock and in Fort Hood.

“These acts were not just a drive-by shooting and workplace violence. They were terrorist attacks on our service members in our own land.”

Long noted that both Arkansas and Tennessee have enacted laws known as “Andy’s Law” to allow the recovery of costs incurred by law enforcement and the courts and the awarding of damages to victims and their families in cases involving acts of terrorism.

Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, who pinned the medals on Ezeagwula and Daris Long, said the soldiers “were specifically targeted because of their devotion to our country and defending our way of life.”