Thomas E. Bratten Jr. will be honored tomorrow for rising from an Army soldier gravely wounded in Vietnam to become Maryland's secretary of veterans affairs, helping others who have suffered as he did.
"So few of us can even imagine the adversity Tom has overcome," said philanthropist Lois Pope, who will present the $50,000 LIFE Presidential Unsung Hero Award at a black-tie ceremony in Washington. "He put his life on the line for his country. He's a champion for all disabled veterans.
"Tom is a hero in every sense of the word."
Pope, who is seeking to build a memorial for disabled veterans on 3 acres in Washington, has given the Unsung Hero Award on the eve of Veterans Day for the past five years. The award is presented by her foundation.
"He has certainly earned that honor," said Dick Shatzer, Bratten's deputy secretary. "He's doing a heck of a good job for all the veterans in the state."
Bratten, 59, a native of Louisville, Ky., entered the Army in May 1963. Seven years later, as the young colonel tried to aid wounded soldiers near Chu Lai, three land mines exploded.
He lost his left arm, left leg and parts of his right hand. Bratten spent 3 1/2 years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as he recovered from his injuries. He gets around today in a wheelchair.
For his service, he received the Purple Heart, Silver Star and Bronze Star.
Bratten went on to graduate from American University in Washington and then to work for several state agencies before becoming chief administrator of the Maryland Veterans Commission in 1992.
Gov. Parris N. Glendening named him the state's first secretary of veterans affairs in 1999. The office helps Maryland's 534,000 veterans obtain benefits and manages the state's veterans cemeteries and many of its war memorials.
Bratten's eyesight is failing so his wife, Linda, drives him from their home in Garrett County to his office in Baltimore a few times a week, he said. He said he has a bond with those veterans who come to him for help.
"I guess I can relate to them," he said. "I've been there. I'm one of them. ... I don't hide behind the shield and say, 'I'm the secretary.' I take time out to talk to them. A lot of times I give them my home phone number."
He has been a member of the Garrett County Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Governor's Commission for Employment of the Handicapped, the Maryland World War II Memorial Commission and the Maryland Memorial Commission.
Bratten, who lost his soldier-father during the D-Day invasion in World War II, was honored in August as Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year by the Disabled American Veterans at a ceremony in Dallas.
He said he's flattered by the attention.
"I guess I'm very humbled by it," he said. "I'm very heartened that somebody recognizes you after 32 years."