Why did captain Mary Jennings get a purple heart?

Answer 1

Captain Mary Jennings, now Major Mary Jennings Hegar, received her Purple Heart due to injuries she sustained on a Medevac mission in southern Afghanistan on July 29, 2009. She was a co-pilot of an Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, call sign Pedro 15, which landed in a hot LZ to rescue 3 injured American soldiers. When the aircraft landed, a bullet entered the cockpit through the co-pilot windshield and fragmented into several pieces (approximately 18 entering Capt Jennings' right forearm and right upper thigh with others entering radios on the lower center console, one hitting the pilot in the leg and one hitting the pilot in his body armor). Despite the cracked windshield and bloodied co-pilot, Pedro 15 landed in the zone a second time to pick up the patients. After receiving significantly more fire, the aircraft took off and only made it 1.8 miles before being forced to land. The crew held their perimiter for 20 minutes while waiting for exfiltration. Captain Jennings and two of her crew mates were exfiltrated on the skids of 2 army OH-58s. The remaining crew and patients were exfiltrated on their sister ship, Pedro 16.