Eric Jackson took a bullet in the forearm during the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. military base , and returned to Fort Hood five years later with other survivors on Friday to receive Purple Heart medals . Some smiled over an honor they felt was overdue , but also clenched their teeth over needs in their scarred and injured lives they say the Army has denied . ' I try not to be bitter . But it 's kind of hard not to be bitter , ' said Jackson , a former staff sergeant . 'You wonder , where 's the respect ? Where 's the recognition ? Where 's the support for what you 've gone through and what you 're continuously going through ? ' Scroll down for video . An honor : Teena Nemelka , right , mother of Private First Class Aaron Nemelka who was killed during the attack by Major Nidal Hasan in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting , looks down at her son 's Purple Heart . Building bonds : Teena Nemelka , left , mother of Private Firtst Class Aaron Nemelka , left picture , and Sheryll Pearson , right , mother of Private First Class Michael Pearson , right picture , visit one another on Friday . Thirteen people were killed and 31 were injured in the 2009 attack carried out by an Army psychiatrist who is now on military death row . Following years of tension , the Army gave the Purple Hearts to survivors and relatives of the dead in a somber ceremony on the Texas military post , just two miles from where Nidal Hasan had opened fire in a room of unarmed soldiers . Top military commanders recalled tables that became makeshift stretchers to transport the wounded and dying . Ten of the survivors remain on active duty . 'It is our sincere hope that in some small way this will help heal the wounds you have suffered , ' Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland said . But words of gratitude from military leaders and elected officials , including Republican Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz , gave way to medal recipients pressing and chastising the Pentagon over combat benefits . The Purple Heart , given to military personnel wounded in battle , offers increased retirement pay . Cornyn said he expects Fort Hood victims to finally get approved for entitlements within weeks , noting that he spoke to Army Secretary John McHugh before the ceremony . Terrorist : Hasan ( pictured ) was convicted by a military judge in 2013 in the killings , and he recommended the death penalty . He snapped : Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan opened fire on November 5 , 2009 , killing 13 men and women at the military post in Killeen , Texas , injuring 30 others before he was shot himself . Rememberence : Joleen Cahill , foreground , wife of Michael Cahill who was killed during the attack by Major Nidal Hasan , carries her husband 's Defense of Freedom Medal back to her chair . Many survivors are also seeking separate financial damages in a lawsuit , claiming the U.S. government should have known of Hasan 's extremist views . During his 2013 trial , Hasan told jurors he had 'switched sides ' in what he called America 's war with Islam . He admitted beginning the rampage by pulling out a pistol and shouting 'Allahu akbar ' ( God is great ) and said he wanted to stop American soldiers from being deployed to kill fellow Muslims . Kimberly Munley , a Fort Hood police officer at the time , helped end the attack in a gunfight with Hasan . She was awarded the Defense of Freedom medal but after the ceremony expressed frustration over uncertainty about the level of benefits Fort Hood victims would receive . 'These soldiers are going to get what they rightfully deserve , ' Munley said . The award : Dozens of Purple Hearts and two Defense of Freedom Medals were awarded at Fort Hood , Texas to victims and family of the 2009 terrorist attack . Military officials had long denied the Purple Heart awards because they called the attack an act of workplace violence , not terrorism . Cornyn and others have long condemned that classification , but he said changing the distinction could have jeopardized the case against Hasan , who was not charged with terrorism . Last year , Congress approved new eligibility requirements for Purple Hearts that forced the Defense Department to reconsider . The daughter of Michael Cahill , a physician 's assistant who was the only civilian killed in the attack , accepted the Defense of Freedom medal for her father and used the occasion to draw attention to veteran suicides . Cahill was shot while as he rushed toward Hasan with a chair lifted over his head . 'The first month after dad died , everyone asked us , `` What can I do ? '' And it was great , 'Kerry Cahill said . 'Nobody asks me that any more . We 're not done . ' A moment of silence : Texas Governor Greg Abbott , seated , and Sen. John Cornyn , right , bow their heads during the invocation of a Purple Heart ceremony held at Fort Hood , Texas on Friday .
Some smiled over an honor they felt was overdue , but also clenched their teeth over needs they say the army has denied . ' I try not to be bitter . But sometimes it's hard to keep my mouth shut when you're being treated like shit by your own government and people who are supposed to protect you.