The history of the purple heart is incredible though. It was originally given by General George Washington to soldiers during the post-Revolutionary War timeframe, and it was pretty much the equivalent of a Silver Star by today's standards. It was given for meritorious action and was made of purple cloth. Not many were given out though, which made the original ones a truly incredible feat.
Did you know that of our American Presidents, John F. Kennedy is the only one to have earned a purple heart? He served in the Navy during WW2 and earned his when a Japanese destroyer collided with his patrol boat. Pretty awesome, right?
My purple heart has cost me more than any other portion of my military service. I’m proud to have served and proud to have earned one but no military award, other than the medal of honor is usually accommodated by such a heavy toll. People don’t “win” purple hearts which I hear often. It’s given in recognition of the time/day/date/place where an enemy attacked you and your group, and you either lived with injuries because of it, or you lost your life because of it. I’ve seen purple heart ceremonies where the award was presented posthumously, and nothing is more sad in serving in the military than seeing a pair of boots, with a rifle and a helmet on top to symbolize one of our own that earned this award and never made it home. This means that when the flag was folded for them and encased in a beautiful wooden box and a purple heart affixed/included that it was given to that servicemember’s wife, husband, or mom and dad. They don’t get to see it and the immense amount of pride and gratitude that our country has for the men and women who’ve earned that particular award.
If you’ve earned a purple heart serving in today’s wars, that means that you left a piece of yourself on a foreign battlefield. That means that you carry the scars of a grievous wound that many couldn’t imagine surviving. That means too, that the mental scars we often carry from earning this award are often deeper than the physical ones.
If you have a purple heart sitting on a shelf somewhere, in a box, hanging on your old uniform in the closet somewhere, I thank you for your blood and sacrifice. It’s one that not all who serve understand, but I do.
I also urge you (even as I type I haven’t) but take that medal in and get the date & location inscribed on the back so that your injury history and in my case, life long-lived can be documented for the rest of time. It’s part of your story, but it will be a history shared by our children for years to come.
Live your life the way that those men and women who got a ceremony with a pair of boots, a rifle and helmet instead of a medal on chest, cannot. Serve as an example of the strength gained from earning such a historic military award provides and share your stories.
Written by Cpl. Donny Daughenbaugh, USMC (Ret.)
Read more about Purple Heart Day here: https://militarybenefits.info/purple-heart-day/#ixzz6ULkmqI9m
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