Character Reference - Chuck Hagel Deserves Fair Hearing For Defense Secretary Post - The Daily Beast

But beyond my appreciation for independent voices and bipartisan coalitions, my extended family s experience with Chuck Hagel serves as a small character reference . He and my mother s cousin, Dean Phillips, were friends and fellow Vietnam Vets who worked together in the VA to under Presidents Carter and Reagan. Previously, Dean served with the 101st Airborne Division as a paratrooper on long-range reconnaissance patrols and was awarded two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. After the war, both men devoted themselves to their fellow soldiers in a time of thankless transition. When Dean died at age 42 of what was believed to be Agent Orange-related cancer, Hagel gave the eulogy. Even as a senator, years later, Hagel stayed in touch with Dean s mother, Helen, back home in Ohio. The experience is anecdotal (I ve never met the man), but it is testimony to his character.