![]() Because it was originally created by George Washington, and reinstated by the Army Chief of Staff, the Purple Heart could not be awarded to any other service branch. If their letter was approved the medal was mailed to the recipient regardless of the conflict.Īs the first Japanese torpedoes slipped into the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, the Purple Heart was still only a US Army award. At that time, it was very common for soldiers to write in and apply for medals. The addition of the wound criteria for the new Purple Heart changed everything for men and women wounded by enemy action and ended the short run of the wound chevron.īefore American entry to World War II, roughly 78,000 Purple Hearts were issued to US Army personnel who had been wounded as far back as the Civil War or had performed meritorious service during World War I. These chevrons were sewn on the lower right sleeve of a uniform, one chevron per wound. During World War I, a wound medal and ribbon were instituted, but were quickly replaced by wound chevrons. In all conflicts before World War I, the only indication that a servicemember had been injured in action was the bandage placed over the wound. In an attached line, additional criterion for the Purple Heart included, “A wound, which necessitates treatment by a medical officer, and which is received in action with an enemy of the United States, or as a result of an act of such enemy, may…be construed as resulting from a singularly meritorious act of essential service.” 3 on Februand declared that the newly named Purple Heart would be awarded for meritorious or valorous service in the US Army. It was not until 1932 that US Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur dusted off the old Badge of Military Merit and renamed it the Purple Heart. Other Allied and Axis nations had a number of medals that recognized different levels of valor and merit, which caused a general push for additional awards within the US Army.Ĭongress reacted by creating the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal. At that point, the only American award that could be earned by soldiers and officers was the Medal of Honor. It was not until World War I that an organized hierarchy of valor and merit medals began to take shape. ![]() In all that time only the original three were known to have been issued. Washington presented the Badge of Military Merit, which consisted of a cloth purple heart to be worn over the left breast, to three sergeants in his army.ĭespite this great start, the Badge of Military Merit was soon forgotten for 150 years. This established a precedent within awards systems for valor, defined as heroic actions in combat, and merit, which is proper performance of military duties not related to combat. Recognizing that the Continental Army was fighting a tough campaign, supplies were scarce, and pay was low, Washington felt a need to encourage his troops by establishing an award for valor and meritorious service. Most awards, decorations, and medals were given to great commanders, aristocrats, or kings. At that time, and for many decades afterwards, there were very few awards that common soldiers could receive in service of their country. What now is known as the Purple Heart began as the Badge of Military Merit, established by George Washington on August 7, 1782. The Purple Heart is the oldest active military award in the United States and, like the country it represents, has gone through many changes. “For military merit and for wounds received in action,” reads the citation issued to over 1 million men and women who served during World War II. From that moment on he joined a new group of distinguished servicemembers, recipients of the Purple Heart.Īpart from the Medal of Honor, one of the most recognizable awards in the US Armed Forces is the Purple Heart. The fight against the Shuri line continued for the 4th Marines, but for Duet his war was over. Duet woke up before he was placed in the grave that was being prepared for him, but the severity of his wounds led to the loss of his left arm below the elbow. He soon joined 70 of his comrades who were wounded or killed in the few hours it took to change places with the 22nd Marines. On May 19, Duet and his unit, I company, 4th Marines, 6th Marine Division, were in the process of relieving the 22nd Marine Regiment on top of Sugarloaf hill when he was hit. At that moment, Duet had spent less than nine months in the US Marine Corps, however, he had been in combat since the April 1 landings on Okinawa, which was enough to make anyone a combat veteran. ![]() It was May 19, 1945, on a hill called Sugarloaf, during the Battle of Okinawa. Duet ever heard the explosion that killed three men in his position and shredded his lower left arm. It is unlikely that Private First Class Clifton A.
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