Oak Island Marine veteran selected for 2026 Purple Heart Patriot Project

OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WECT) - An Oak Island Marine Corps veteran has been chosen to be one of the 2026 Purple Heart Patriot Project honorees.

Corporal Robert Cloninger will be North Carolina’s representative at the multi-day tribute to America’s combat wounded.

Candidates are selected from hundreds of nominees as part of the National Purple Heart Honor Mission’s program, chosen for their courage and service.

Cloninger enlisted in the Marine Corps on Aug. 7, 1967, serving with 1st Battalion, 26th Marines’ Delta Company. He was deployed to Vietnam during the Tet Offensive and fought at the Siege of Khe Sanh, then continued fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. He earned his Purple Heart after he was wounded in an ambush in North Vietnam, suffering shrapnel injuries to his right upper arm.

Cloninger also received the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two stars, the Rifle Expert Badge and the Presidential Unit Citation.

“It was an honor to serve my country. The Marines taught me discipline,” Cloninger said.

The annual, all-expenses-paid Honor Flight-style salute brings together recipients from across conflicts and generations.

The program will be held from April 27 to May 1 and will feature visits to historic sites, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a private tour of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and the 9/11 Memorial.

“Robert and his fellow Patriot Project honorees represent the best of the best our country has to offer,” said Jeremy McVey, chairman of the National Purple Heart Honor Mission. “These honorees represent a true cross-section of America and the diversity of our combat wounded through the decades. They answered the nation’s call and then kept on serving. This is our opportunity to say ‘thank you’ on behalf of a grateful nation, especially for our Vietnam veterans, the Patriot Project provides proper homecoming they never received.”

The Purple Heart Patriot Project provides an all-expenses-paid trip to Purple Heart recipients from across the country to visit the museum dedicated to their service and other historic sites connected with the Purple Heart.

For more information about the National Purple Heart Honor Mission or to donate to sponsor the trip for Purple Heart recipients, visit here.