Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Friday that Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom — both West Virginia National Guard members shot in the head while stationed in Washington, D.C. — will receive the Purple Heart. WUSA9 reported that Beckstrom was 20 years old. She died the day after the November 26 shooting. Wolfe, 24, survived and remains in recovery.

Hegseth made the announcement at a re-enlistment ceremony in front of the Washington Monument, speaking directly to the National Guard troops deployed in the capital:

"We had a terrible thing happen a number of months ago. Sarah Beckstrom, Andrew Wolfe; one lost, one recovered in, thank God, miraculous ways. Both soon to be Purple Heart recipients, because they were attacked by a radical."

He also said those who responded to the shooting would be acknowledged with distinctions of their own.

A soldier who never came home

On November 26, Wolfe and Beckstrom were stationed near the Farragut North Metro station when they were shot.

Beckstrom, from Nicholas County, West Virginia, died the following day. She was an Army Specialist — twenty years old, serving her state and her country in the nation's capital. That assignment cost her everything.

Wolfe, from Berkeley County, West Virginia, took a bullet to the head and lived. He has been suffering from aphasia and is scheduled for skull reconstruction surgery in March. His mother, Melody Wolfe, sat down with CBS affiliate WOWK to describe those first moments after learning her son had been shot:

"I just immediately started calling my friends for prayer chains. I said I want his name all over the United States for prayer. I said I want his name out there. I want people speaking his name. And you could see that it spread like wildfire."

On Tuesday, Andrew Wolfe posted on Facebook himself:

"I'm grateful to be alive. Thank you for your prayers and support. It's all been overwhelming, and I'm trying still and determined. It's been hard to go through something like this. Thank you for everything."

His mother shared on Monday that the upcoming skull surgery is considered routine. That word — "routine" — does a lot of heavy lifting for a 24-year-old who was shot in the head while guarding a Metro station in the capital of the free world.

The man charged

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national described as someone who assisted the CIA in military operations before arriving in the United States, is alleged to have shot both Guard members. He appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to nine federal charges, including:

• One count of first-degree murder while armed
• One count of transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with the intent to commit a felony
• Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed
• Four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence or dangerous offense

A man brought into this country on the basis of his foreign service allegedly turned a weapon on the Americans tasked with keeping Washington safe. The judicial process will determine his guilt. The facts already tell us something about what went wrong long before he pulled a trigger.

West Virginia's governor pushed for this

The Purple Hearts didn't happen by accident. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said he personally requested the awards in December and thanked Hegseth for following through:

"This announcement brings long-overdue honor to their service, offers meaning and reassurance to their families and stands as a solemn reminder that West Virginia will never forget those who sacrifice in defense of others."

"Long-overdue" is the right phrase. These Guard members were attacked while carrying out a lawful mission on American soil. The recognition should match the sacrifice.

The front lines are here

Hegseth — dubbed "the Secretary of War" by the Trump administration — didn't sugarcoat what these troops are doing in D.C. He described the deployment plainly:

"It's not an easy assignment. It's the real deal, it's the front lines."

He's right. The National Guard deployment in Washington stems from an executive order calling to make the nation's capital "safe and beautiful." As of Saturday, 2,654 National Guard members were in active deployment with Joint Task Force-DC, including 1,951 from outside Washington. The first out-of-state soldiers arrived in August. Florida's National Guard arrived most recently, on January 19.

The state-by-state breakdown tells its own story:

• D.C. National Guard: 703
• South Carolina: 308
• Indiana: 303
• Florida: 241
• Mississippi: 208
• Oklahoma: 193
• Alabama: 190
• West Virginia: 170
• Ohio: 148
• Arkansas: 104
• Georgia: 84
• Louisiana: 2

All eleven states with active deployments have Republican governors. That's not a coincidence — it's a pattern of willingness. When the federal government asked for help restoring order in the capital, red states answered.

One hundred and seventy West Virginia Guard members remain deployed in Washington right now, serving alongside thousands of others from across the country. They are doing what their leaders asked of them — standing post in a city that needed them.

What a Purple Heart means here

The Purple Heart is among the oldest military decorations in American history. Awarding it to Beckstrom and Wolfe makes a statement that extends beyond ceremony: these soldiers were not bystanders caught in random violence.

They were service members attacked while executing a mission. The distinction matters.

Sarah Beckstrom gave her life. Andrew Wolfe is fighting to rebuild his. The nation's capital is safer because people like them showed up — and the least their country can do is honor what that cost them.

A 20-year-old from West Virginia died defending Washington, D.C. She deserved better than to need a Purple Heart. She earned one anyway.