PHOTO PROVIDED Wade Morehart, currently deployed in Egypt with the Army National Guard, was recently awarded the Legionnaire’s distinction of the Order of St. Maurice, which honors significant contributions to the Army and demonstration of integrity, he said.

“I decided to enlist because it was always something I admired,” said Wade Morehart, serving with the Army National Guard and currently deployed to Egypt as part of a multinational peacekeeping force. “I found honor and purpose in it.”

Morehart’s service has not gone unnoticed — the National Infantry Association recently awarded him the Legionnaire’s distinction of the Order of St. Maurice.

The Order of St. Maurice, Morehart said, honors significant contributions to the Army and demonstration of integrity.

“A nominee for the Order of Saint Maurice must have served the Infantry community with distinction; must have demonstrated a significant contribution in support of the Infantry; and must represent the highest standards of integrity, moral character, professional competence, and dedication to duty,” according to the website for the National Infantry Association.

“I would like to say that winning the award is still surreal and meaningful to me,” Morehart said of the award. “Why I do what I do was never about winning an award though. I have been very blessed to have had the opportunities and experiences afforded to me in the military that other soldiers don’t get. All I’ve ever wanted to accomplish though was to pass off my knowledge to at least one soldier, to make a meaningful impact, and just maybe bring that many more home safe. That is the highest award I could ever hope to achieve.”

Morehart served with the 82nd Airborne in the Army, before transitioning four years ago to the Army National Guard. His role in the guard brought him to Egypt, where Americans are serving alongside forces from Italy, Great Britain, Norway, Fiji, Canada, Colombia, Australia and New Zealand to enforce a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

“We train together and we go outside the wire together,” Morehart said.

He added that the Americans and international forces also enjoy recreation on their base together. Morehart said everyone, of course, still misses home.

“We make it work,” he said. “Being away from home and family for a year and in an unforgiving environment isn’t fun for anyone. However, it’s part of the job and this is where the guys are, so that’s where I am.There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with the men I serve with. They’re what make it all worthwhile.”

Morehart has also been deployed to Iraq in the past. In October of 2019, he joined two fellow veterans to carry rucksacks 62 miles on the Pine Creek Rail Trail to raise money for a veterans’ organization.

“We who served took an oath to defend our country, but we also vowed to ourselves to always protect our brothers and sisters in arms,” he told the Sun-Gazette in 2019.

Morehart said he knew he wanted to serve as early as at least his days as a student of South Williamsport Area High School, from which he graduated in 2008.

While at South Williamsport Area High School, he played football and competed in track and field. After graduating he went to Lock Haven University. Last year, he married Claire Dilworth, and the couple are in the process of navigating the immigration system so his wife, an English citizen, can move to the U.S.