Jefferson City resident Bob Proctor was one of four Missouri military veterans presented with a Silver Star by Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander on Wednesday.
Kander presented the veterans with a Silver Star banner and a certificate in honor of their sacrifice to the country at a ceremony in Gov. Jay Nixon's Capitol office for the state's Silver Star Families of America Day.
The four veterans - Tom Abrams, John Clark, John Harlow and Proctor - all incurred wounds, injuries or illness during deployment in combat areas.
Proctor lives in Jefferson City and is the headquarters platoon sergeant with the 3175th MP Co. and maneuver mobility and support officer in Warrenton.
He joined the Army in 1982 and served until 1986. He then enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in September 1989 while attending Southwest Baptist University.
Proctor served in the Gulf War and was then sent to Fort Riley, Kan. In 1994, he left the Guard and started a small business, but then rejoined the Guard in 2006 as a trainer with the training evaluation battalion at Fort Leonard Wood.
He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, where he sustained a knee injury, preventing him from returning to his business when he returned home.
Currently, along with his work with the Guard, Proctor is studying biology at Columbia College. He hopes to receive a teaching certificate in secondary education.
The 51-year-old said it's humbling to receive the Silver Star award, but he said he and fellow soldiers do their job because they enjoy it, not to receive recognition.
"I believe the Missouri National Guard is one of the finest organizations in the country," Proctor said. "The amount of support given in this state is amazing."
Kander, a former member of the Missouri National Guard and a former member of the U.S. Army Reserve, said he appreciates everything the Missouri National Guard does.
"As many of the families here know, they've been sort of tested and have met every test and every challenge over the past several years both overseas and here in Missouri," he said.
"Observing May 1 as Silver Star Families Day reminds us that these veterans from several different conflicts made this sacrifice on our behalf," Kander said.
Nixon missed the event because of a welcome home ceremony for more than 120 soldiers of the Missouri National Guard's 35th Combat Aviation Brigade in Sedalia. The soldiers were deployed to command and control headquarters for aviation elements in Kuwait.