The Purple Heart: America's Oldest Medal
FORMATION
The origin of the modern Purple Heart began on August 7, 1782 as the Badge of Military Merit upon order of then Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, General George Washington, from his headquarters on the Hudson in Newburgh, New York. Its purpose was to recognize unusually heroic acts or act deemed essential to the success of the Continental Army.
Washington authorized his subordinate officers to issue Badges of Merit, with Washington only being known to have awarded the badge to three Revolutionary War soldiers himself;
- Sergeant William Brown of the 5th Connecticut Regiment
- Sergeant Elijah Churchill of the 2nd Regiment Light Dragoons
- Sergeant Daniel Bissell of the 2nd Connecticut Regiment
Although never abolished, the award of the badge was not proposed again officially until after World War I.
RESURGENCE
On February 22, 1932 -- the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth -- the War
Department (predecessor to the Department of Defense) announced the establishment
of the Purple Heart award.
Eligibility criteria for the award included:
• Those in possession of a Meritorious Service
Citation Certificate issued by the Commander-in
Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in
World War I. (The Certificates had to be
exchanged for the Purple Heart.)
• Those authorized by Army regulations to wear
wound chevrons. (These men also had to apply
for the new award.)
The newly reintroduced Purple Heart was not intended
primarily as an award for those wounded in action -- the
“wound chevron” worn by a soldier on his sleeve already
fulfilled that purpose. Establishing the Meritorious Service
Citation as a qualification for receiving the Purple Heart
was very much in keeping with General Washington’s
original intent for the award.
MODERN ERA
In December 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9277 which authorized award of the Purple Heart to personnel from all of the military services (retroactive to December 7, 1941), as the medal was previously exclusively an Army award. The Executive Order further stated that the Purple Heart was to be awarded to persons who “are wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, or as a result of an act of such enemy, provided such would necessitate treatment by a medical officer.”
In November 1952, President Harry S. Truman issued an Executive Order extending eligibility for the award to April 5, 1917, to coincide with the eligibility dates for Army personnel.
President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11016 in April 1962 that further extended eligibility to "any civilian national of the United States, who while serving under competent authority in any capacity with an armed force…, has been, or may hereafter be, wounded" and authorized posthumous award of the medal.
Executive Order 12464 signed by President Ronald Reagan in 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 March 28, 1973.
The 1998 National Defense Authorization Act removed civilians from the list of personnel eligible for the medal.
Currently the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the president of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services who has been wounded or killed.
The Purple Heart is ranked immediately behind the bronze star and ahead of the
Defense Meritorious Service Medal in order of precedence, and is one of the most recognizable military awards.
WHY IT MATTERS
The Purple Heart is awarded, honoring only those members of the armed forces wounded by instrument of war at the hands of the enemy, being posthumously awarded to the next of kin in the name of those killed in action or died of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration, which attests, without question, to the bearer having been in combat.
It is a decoration of solemn distinction for which an individual cannot be recommended, but may only be earned - awarded to an individual by certification of the President of the Untied States and only for those who have sacrificed themselves greatly or paid the ultimate price in service to our country.