The Purple Heart is the oldest award given to members of the United States military. On August 7, 1782, General George Washington created a purple, heart-shaped Badge of Military Merit, but it was only awarded to three Continental Army soldiers during the American Revolution.[1] The medal would not appear again until 1932, when General Douglas MacArthur spearheaded its reintroduction on General George Washington’s 200th birthday, February 22nd of that year.[2] Between 1932 and the onset of the Second World War more than 78,000 Purple Hearts were retroactively awarded to World War I veterans, as well as injured Civil War, Indian Wars, and Spanish-American War veterans. In 1942, President Roosevelt gave the Navy Department the ability to award the decoration to Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen injured by the enemy.[3]
Following the attack at Pearl Harbor, the War Department changed the rule allowing the Purple Heart to be awarded posthumously. Today, it is possible to tell on the award itself if a recipient survived his/her wounds. If there is no name engraved in the award, they are a survivor of the injury. Around 1,506,000 Purple Heart medals were produced during the Second World War, with production drastically increasing in the latter years of the conflict in anticipation of the planned invasion of Japan, which thankfully did not happen.[4] Around 100,000 of these award sets are still available from this era. Many have been refurbished and refitted to stay presentable. Only 35,000 new awards have been made by the Defense Logistics Agency since the Second World War, and the number of these awards on hand continues to dwindle.
The criteria of the award have gone through several changes since the Second World War that have expanded the ability to present the award. During President Kennedy’s tenure, he introduced Executive Order 11016 allowing American personnel serving in Vietnam the ability to receive the award. Because the U.S. had not made a declaration of war against North Vietnam, the Viet Kong and North Vietnamese Army couldn’t be considered “an enemy”.[5] The requirements of the Purple Heart stated that one had to be injured or killed by “an enemy” prior to this order. The last major change to the Purple Heart came in 1984 when President Ronald Regan changed the requirements of the medal to include those injured by acts of Terrorism.[6] Other notable changes include the omission of the award to service members who succumb to frostbite and heatstroke, and the inclusion of men and women who are prisoners of war to receive it.[7] Over 1.5 million have earned the Purple Heart since reintroduction by General MacArthur.
[1] Borch, Fred L. “The Purple Heart – The Story of America’s Oldest Military Decoration and Some Soldier Recipients”. National Museum of the United States Army. Army Historical Foundation. 5/24/21.
[2] Miller, Christian T. “A History of the Purple Heart” National Public Radio. September 8th, 2010.
[3] Borch, Fred L. “Prologue.” A Heart of Purple. Winter, 2012, 20.
[4] Giangreco, D.M. and Moore, Kathryn. “Are New Purple Hearts Being Manufactured to Meet the Demand?” History News Network. The George Washington University. 2003.
[5] Borch, Fred L. “The Purple Heart – The Story of America’s Oldest Military Decoration and Some Soldier Recipients”. National Museum of the United States Army. Army Historical Foundation. 5/24/21.
[6] Miller, Christian T. “A History of the Purple Heart” National Public Radio. September 8th, 2010.
[7] Ibid.