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RICHLAND — James "Jake" Holland's family knew he had a big heart and loved to help people, but no one in the family circle knew about the Purple Heart he received for being shot as an infantryman with the Sixth Armored Division during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
Holland will be honored in a special way Saturday when his grandson, also a Purple Heart recipient, will present the folded U.S. flag to his grandmother at Holland's funeral.
Staff Sgt. Jared Colvig, 27, a Prosser High School graduate who has served five tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he now understands the meaning the Purple Heart had for his grandfather.
Colvig will wear his dress Army uniform and his combat-earned Purple Heart while giving the flag to Helen Holland.
"I think it is awesome that he was part of that important history," said Colvig, who returned from Afghanistan in July and is on funeral leave from Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
He received a Purple Heart for being shot in the arm three years ago while commanding a Humvee during a military operation in a hot spot known as Helmand River Valley in the south of Afghanistan. The region is known as a Taliban stronghold.
Holland said having her grandson participate in the funeral service at Cathedral of Joy in Richland would make her husband proud.
Jake Holland returned from the war to be a farmer in Othello, and retired to Kennewick 35 years ago. He rarely mentioned the war or his Purple Heart, Helen Holland said.
Holland's children didn't even know about the wartime award until their father applied for Purple Heart logo license plates about 10 years ago.
"He was part of that silent generation that didn't talk about the war," Helen Holland said.
Finally, after a half-century, the emotional wounds began to heal, and the Hollands traveled to Europe to visit battle sites and landmarks that remained fixed in Jake's mind.
"He wanted to go back. It was a healing process," Helen Holland said.
Colvig said he has participated in military funerals, but this one is uniquely personal.
"It is an honor to present a flag, but this one will be even more special," he said.
From one Purple Heart to another.
