WWII vet Patterson is Dodgers' All-Star hero

PHOENIX -- David Patterson of Rio Rancho, N.M., will represent the Dodgers as one of 30 winners of the "Tribute for Heroes" campaign, a national initiative of MLB and People Magazine that recognizes veterans and military service members.

Patterson was awarded the Silver Congressional Medal of Honor and is a Native American who took part in every Marine assault in World War II as one of the Navajo Code Talkers.

Each winner will be included in All-Star Week festivities and will attend and be honored during pregame ceremonies leading up to the July 16 All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York.

Fans nationwide cast their votes at TributeForHeroes.com to select 30 winners from a pool of 90 finalists.

The "Tribute For Heroes" campaign supports Welcome Back Veterans (welcomebackveterans.org, powered by MLB.com), an initiative of Major League Baseball and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, which addresses the needs of veterans after they return from service.

Major League Baseball has committed more than $23 million for grants to hospitals and clinics that provide post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatment to veterans and their families in a public/private partnership with "Centers of Excellence" at university hospitals throughout the country.