Since I have written about three military men this week it is appropriate to remind you that today is Purple Heart Day, honoring all recipients of the Purple Heart Medal for having been injured or killed in military combat.
On this day, August 7, 1782, George Washington, who was Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, created the first Purple Heart Award. It was originally called the Badge of Military Merit. It was the first official military combat badge of the U.S. armed forces. It was awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers. Why not others? I simply do not know. The medal fell into disuse and wasn't officially awarded again until after World War I. On February 22, 1932, the birth date of George Washington, it was officially revived by an executive order of the President. Washington's image appears on this medal. Here is the executive order:
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 AFTER 5 APRIL, 1917, HAS BEEN WOUNDED OR KILLED, OR WHO HAS DIED OR MAY HEREAFTER DIE AFTER BEING WOUNDED.
There is a National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in the town of New Windsor, New York which seeks to collect and preserve the stories of recipients of this award from all branches of the military service. They are preserved and shared through a series of exhibits, video interviews with veterans, and the Roll of Honor.
We salute these men and women who bear on their bodies the marks of military conflict. Many cannot receive our salute for they lost their lives in a conflict. Many are finding their way back into society from recent conflicts. For some of these the wounds are not in their bodies, but deep in their hearts and minds. They will bear no outward scars, but the inward ones will remain for a lifetime.
