In the USA, a decoration instituted in 1782 as an award for gallantry; it was revived in 1932, since when it has been awarded for wounds received in action. The ribbon is purple with white edges.
The Purple Heart is a U.S. military decoration awarded in the name of the President of the United States to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after 5 April 1917 with the U.S. military.
Appearance
A Purple Heart is a heart-shaped medal within a gold border, 1 ⁄8 inches (35 mm) wide and consists of the following stripes: ⁄8 inches (29 mm) purple 67115;
History
The original Purple Heart, designated as the Badge of Military Merit, was established by George Washington–then the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army–by order from his Newburgh, New York headquarters on 7 August 1782.
Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General, was named to redesign the newly revived medal, which became known as the Purple Heart. Using general specifications provided to her, Will created the design sketch for the present medal of the Purple Heart. By Executive Order of the President of the United States, the Purple Heart was revived on the 200th Anniversary of George Washington's birth, out of respect to his memory and military achievements, by War Department General Orders No.
The criteria was announced in War Department circular dated 22 February 1932 and authorized award to soldiers, upon their request, who had been awarded the Meritorious Service Citation Certificate, Army Wound Ribbon, or were authorized to wear Wound Chevrons subsequent to 5 April 1917. The first Purple Heart was awarded to MacArthur.
During the early period of American involvement in World War II (7 December 1941-22 September 1943), the Purple Heart was awarded both for wounds received in action against the enemy and for meritorious performance of duty. With the establishment of the Legion of Merit, by an Act of Congress, the practice of awarding the Purple Heart for meritorious service was discontinued.
Executive Order 11016, dated 25 April 1962, included provisions for posthumous award of the Purple Heart.
Executive Order 12464, dated 23 February 1984, authorized award of the Purple Heart as a result of terrorist attacks or while serving as part of a peacekeeping force subsequent to 28 March 1973. Public Law 104-106 expanded the eligibility date, authorizing award of the Purple Heart to a former prisoner of war who was wounded before 25 April 1962.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (Public Law 105-85) changed the criteria to delete authorization for award of the Purple Heart Medal to any civilian national of the United States while serving under competent authority in any capacity with the Armed Forces.
Criteria
Award specifications
The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration;
Individuals wounded or killed as a result of friendly fire in the heat of battle will be awarded the Purple Heart as long as the "friendly" projectile or agent was released with the full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops or equipment.
Award examples
Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:
Injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action.Denial examples
Examples of combat related injuries which do not qualify for the Purple Heart are as follows:
Developing a service-related disability, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, months or years after having been engaged in enemy combat. If determined to be "in the heat of the battle," such as being shot with one's own weapon while struggling hand to hand with an enemy, the Purple Heart may be authorized.Presentation procedures
Modern day presentations
Current active duty personnel are awarded the Purple Heart upon recommendation from their chain of command, stating the injury that was received and the action in which the service member was wounded. The award authority for the Purple Heart is normally at the level of an Army Brigade, Marine Corps Division, Air Force Wing, or Navy Task Force. While the award of the Purple Heart is considered automatic for all wounds received in combat, each award presentation must still be reviewed to ensure that the wounds received were as a result of enemy action.
Modern day Purple Heart presentations are recorded in both hardcopy and electronic service records. The annotation of the Purple Heart is denoted both with the service member's parent command and at the headquarters of the military service department.
Unrecorded presentations
During the Vietnam War, Korean War, and World War II, the Purple Heart was often awarded "on the spot," with occasional entries made into service records, but this was often not the case. In addition, during the mass demobilizations that followed each of America's major wars of the 20th century, it was a common occurrence for the Purple Heart to be omitted from service records, due to clerical errors, once the service record was closed upon discharge.
An added complication is that a number of field commanders would engage in "bedside presentations" of the Purple Heart which would typically entail a general entering a hospital with a box of Purple Hearts, pinning them on the pillows of wounded service members, and then departing with no official records kept of the visit or the award of the Purple Heart. In such cases, even if a service member had received actual wounds in combat, both the award of the Purple Heart, as well as the entire visit to the hospital which treated the enemy wound, would never be recorded in official records.
Retroactive presentations
Service members requesting retroactive awards of the Purple Heart must normally apply through the National Personnel Records Center. Following a review of service records, those Army members so qualified are awarded the Purple Heart by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Virginia. Air Force veterans are awarded the Purple Heart by the Awards Office of Randolph Air Force Base while the Navy, Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard presents Purple Hearts to veterans through the Navy Liaison Officer at the National Personnel Records Center.
Simple clerical errors, where a Purple Heart is denoted in military records but was simply omitted from a DD Form 214 (Report of Separation), are corrected on site at the National Personnel Records Center through issuance of a document known as a DD-215.
Retroactive requests
As the Purple Heart did not exist prior to 1932, records of the decoration are not annotated in service histories of those veterans who were wounded or killed by enemy action prior to the establishment of the medal. The Purple Heart, however, is retroactive to 1917 meaning that it may be presented to veterans as far back as the First World War. In such cases, service departments will review service histories and all available records to determine if a veteran may be retroactively awarded the Purple Heart.
Destroyed record requests
Due to the 1973 National Archives Fire, a large number of retroactive Purple Heart requests are difficult to verify since all records to substantiate the award may very well have been destroyed. As a solution to this, the National Personnel Records Center maintains a separate office to deal with Purple Heart requests where service records have been destroyed in the 1973 fire. If a Purple Heart is warranted, all available alternate records sources are forwarded to the military service department for final determination of issuance.
Last resort requests
Some veterans who have exhausted all available sources, often still feel that they should be awarded a Purple Heart, even if there are no records of the decoration. In such cases, service members may appeal directly to the military service department by way of a Defense Department Form 149, which requests an official change to military records. Usually, if the 149 is denied by the service department, there is nothing more a veteran can do and will not be awarded the Purple Heart. In some cases, however, veterans have been recommended for the Purple Heart, after the fact, by a United States Senator or Congressman. Such cases are treated as brand new award recommendations and the process for presenting the Purple Heart begins again with a review of records and interview of witnesses to the action in which a service member was wounded.
Trivia
During World War II, nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the casualties resulting from the abandoned invasion of Japan, Operation Downfall. This is somewhat misleading, however, as it suggests that Purple Hearts being issued currently are those minted in the closing days of World War II.
The most Purple Hearts received by one person is eight. Buck - Four Purple Hearts in the Korean War and four in the Vietnam War Robert T. Frederick - Eight Purple Hearts in World War II; Hackworth - Four Purple Hearts in the Korean War and four in the Vietnam War; Howard - Eight Purple Hearts in the Vietnam War; also received the Medal of Honor
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