On this Veteran's Day we remember America's heroes.
Some made the ultimate sacrifice... and some like the man you are about to meet felt forgotten when they returned home with the physical and emotional wounds of war.
Tonight News 25's Gina Morss has a very personal tribute to a forgotten soldier.

It was 1952... and America was at war in Korea... fighting to stop the spread of communism.
On the frontlines...a young soldier from Bryant, Illinois...Kile Brooks.
"That's me there."
Drafted by the Army, he was a member of the 3rd division, 15th infantry regiment, Charlie Company, 3rd battalion, 1st squad.
"We lost a lot of men...I think it was 33,000..."
I listen intently, with particular pride to this now 79–year–old veteran's story. You see, Kile Brooks is my great–uncle.
He says, "You didn't know when you took a breath if you'd take another one or not."
Uncle Kile's platoon had been on the frontlines for about three months trying to push the enemy back over a mountain when they came under heavy fire.
The veteran says...
"We was about three–quarters of the way up the mountain and I got hit in the back with shrapnel and then my rifle, it got hit with an enemy bullet."
A medic cleaned and taped his wounds... then his lieutenant sent him to retrieve a rifle from a fallen soldier's body so that Private Brooks could continue to fight.
"This lieutenant told me when I was hurt, he said you'll definitely get a purple heart..."
Discharged about a year later as a sergeant...My uncle had his separation and discharge papers...So he received his service medals...but needed the rest of his records to receive the Purple Heart he earned in battle.
"...they told me there was a fire and my records was gone."
Feeling like a forgotten soldier...the Army veteran figured that was it.
So, Uncle Kile returned to central Illinois to raise a family...working three jobs...trying to stay busy... trying to forget the horrors of war.
HIs wife Betty says, "I really didn't know much and he never told me much of anything."
"I was so ashamed of myself for killing people and I couldn't come out and tell them. My family even, they'd ask me...(I'd say) I was in Korea, yeah, but I wouldn't tell them what I'd done."
His wife goes on to say..."When he retired from Keystone and had all that spare time, that's when it really got to him I think..."
Unfortunately, my Uncle Kile's story is not unique. Many veterans suffer the emotional wounds of war long after the physical pain is gone...and many like Uncle Kile are reluctant to get the help they need.
But a nurse at the Veteran's Clinic in Galesburg recognized the signs of post–traumatic stress disorder.
My Aunt Betty is grateful to that nurse.
"She was the one that talked to him and pushed him into going for help."
Counseling and medication –have– helped. And so did this letter from South Korea's president ...
"Thanking me for fighting for them..."
Finally able to look back on his service with a sense of pride instead of shame... he again tried to get his purple heart...and again ran into obstacles.
Then, after seeing our story on an Iraq War veteran who finally received his purple heart with the help of Congressman Ray LaHood's office...my uncle's family contacted the 18th district for assistance. LaHood's staff is optimistic.
Uncle Kiles says, "I'd sure appreciate it if I could get it..."
Time is critical now...Uncle Kile has liver cancer.
"When I went to Korea, the Lord went with me and stayed with me, come back with me...still with me today.... That keeps me strong...keeps me goin'."
An American hero relying on faith and family to survive... And we will always remember his sacrifice. In Bryant, Illinois Gina Morss News 25.

Kile Brooks underwent cancer surgery late last month...his prognosis is uncertain.
And 56 years after returning from Korea... he is still waiting for his purple heart.