TAMPA, Fla. — Army Sgt. Wayne Landis, 25, a Middleburg, Pa., native, will receive his Purple Heart during a ceremony today at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, 13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa Spinal Cord Injury Center.

He is a 1998 graduate of Middleburg High School, where he was a varsity soccer player and a wrestler.

He was deployed to FOB Courage, Mosul, Iraq, in August and was wounded in action while leading a squad in a raid in Mosul on Nov. 19.

Sgt. Landis enlisted in the Army in February 1999. He completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and Advanced Individualized Training at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, as a 98C signals intelligence analyst. He was stationed at Camp Humphreys, Korea, from November 1999 to December 2000.

He transferred to Fort Gordon, Ga., in December 2000, where he was a nuclear, biological and chemical warfare noncommissioned officer and a squad leader. During his time at Fort Gordon, he was named 206th MI Battalion Soldier of the Year for 2003, 116th MI Group Soldier of the Year for 2003, INSCOM America's Region Soldier of the Year for 2003 and runnerup for INSCOM Soldier of the Year for 2003.

In July 2004, Sgt. Landis reclassified as an 11B infantryman. He attended advanced individualized training for infantry at Fort Benning, Ga. He was then assigned to Charlie Company, 2-1 Infantry, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, where he held team leader and squad leader positions.

He is the youngest of eight children. He has six brothers, Arden Jr., Alan, Andy, Anthony, Patrick Landis and Rick Brouse, and one sister, Allison Landis. He is married to Staff Sgt. Michelle Landis, of Greybull, Wyo.