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Purple Hearts (Poll!!!!)

post #1 of 25
1/12/10 at 7:49pm
Thread Starter 
Americans seem to hold a special regard for these medals and the actions for which they are given.*

Case on point, being this quote, from the I luvs guns thread:

Quote:
Originally Posted by JustinW View Post
My favorite quote from (Dem.) Senator Webb was always: "I think I'm the only person ever elected to statewide office in Virginia with a union card, two Purple Hearts and three tattoos". Though I would have added the fact that he is a CHL holder and avid shooter and also the 2 bronze stars, the silver star and the Navy Cross that he didn't mention.

There's been many a war movie in which someone proudly presented another character as having received several purple hearts. To me a purple heart is proof of unfortunate circumstances or even stupidity. [Movie] Americans seem to take it as a badge of honour rather than contempt.

Are Purple heartians bonafide heroes?

Discuss.



*Popular culture is my witness
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post #2 of 25
1/12/10 at 7:51pm
Thread Starter 
No IBP!!
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post #3 of 25
1/12/10 at 7:58pm
I thought these were silly for quite a while - only the stupid/unlucky soldiers get hurt - but seeing British wounded come back from the current conflicts, facing months of physio and the possibility of never being as they were before, changed my perspective on this. We don't have an equivalent of the purple heart in the UK that I am aware of, we have campain medals that all soldiers serving on a campaign get, but I think getting injured in the line of duty is something that should be recognised separately and we should have one. Ok, all soldiers risk injury when deployed, they all theoretically have to be prepared for this, but only a portion of them have to make this sacrifice. I don't know about heroes but they have literally taken one for the team, and this should be recognised.
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post #4 of 25
1/12/10 at 8:46pm
Not that it isn't deserved, and I have two buddies in Kandahar right now, but I learned the other day that apparently Canadian soldiers receive a $60,000 bonus for serving a tour in the 'Stan! Not bad!
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post #5 of 25
1/12/10 at 8:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CDFS View Post
Americans seem to hold a special regard for these medals and the actions for which they are given. Case on point, being this quote, from the I luvs guns thread:
If nothing else, a purple heart is evidence that the person saw some combat, of some sort and is a very real symbol of their willingness to risk their health and lives to do their job. What was cool about Webb's quote above, was that he modestly did not mention the medals he won for heroism (Navy Cross - 2nd highest medal for heroism in combat in the US), but just the purple hearts as evidence that he was there as an marine platoon and company commander in the thick of it all. Another difference is that a purple heart is for a combat wound - perhaps a little less subjective than the procedure for bravery awards. I am very proud that my dad has a heart AND a bronze star. However, only the purple heart gets you all the goodies from your state (in TX, that's free parking anywhere, discounted car rego, no property taxes, etc.).
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post #6 of 25
1/12/10 at 9:56pm
It's a lot 'easier' to get a Purple Heart as a combat troop than driving a forklift on the base. Both of them will get campaign medals though. It was originally ordered by General George Washington. "Let it be known that he who wears the military order of the purple heart has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen." Civilians could get them until 1997, but now there is another award for civilians who are serving close to soldiers and die in military (or terrorist) actions. My grandfather has a pair of them*, courtesy of the Germans. * = technically one Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster
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post #7 of 25
1/12/10 at 10:08pm
A near and dear relative of mine was awarded a Purple Heart for his injury in the Pacific in WWII. I always looked up to him as a hero. I found out shortly before his death, however, that his "injury" was a wrenched back, which occurred while he was transferring beer from one deuce-and-a-half to another, a mid-jungle trade for toilet paper.
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post #8 of 25
1/12/10 at 10:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakota rube View Post
A near and dear relative of mine was awarded a Purple Heart for his injury in the Pacific in WWII. I always looked up to him as a hero.

I found out shortly before his death, however, that his "injury" was a wrenched back, which occurred while he was transferring beer from one deuce-and-a-half to another, a mid-jungle trade for toilet paper.

I enjoyed this story
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post #9 of 25
1/12/10 at 10:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CDFS View Post
I enjoyed this story

My dad was nearly killed by Hugh Heffner in Viet Nam .....

His reinforced company was laying around after a weeklong patrol through some swampland East of Khe Sanh. They were all exhausted and soaked to the bone, so after digging foxholes, most of the marines were laying down soaking up the remaining sunlight before dusk. Half asleep and still recovering from malaria ... he noticed the sky getting darker .... and darker ... and darker. He rolled out of the way just before a small pallet landed exactly were he was laying. Turns out one of the pilots in helicopter flying overhead decided to send a little care package to the grunts in the field - dumping a small palette of Playboy magazines out the door several hundred feet up.

This would NOT have qualified for a purple heart.
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post #10 of 25
1/12/10 at 10:18pm
The word "hero" is very overworked and misused in contemporary American culture--to an annoying degree. A serviceperson who has been wounded in the line of duty in combat may or may not be a hero. Someone is not ipso facto a hero because he got wounded--he simply got wounded, and according to American military tradition, that makes him or her deserving of the Purple Heart...and that's fine with me.
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post #11 of 25
1/12/10 at 10:33pm
^Do you have hostiles firing weapons at you? Dropping bombs on you? I'm just wondering...
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post #12 of 25
1/12/10 at 10:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JLibourel View Post
The word "hero" is very overworked and misused in contemporary American culture--to an annoying degree. A serviceperson who has been wounded in the line of duty in combat may or may not be a hero. Someone is not ipso facto a hero because he got wounded--he simply got wounded, and according to American military tradition, that makes him or her deserving of the Purple Heart...and that's fine with me.

+ 1, but not just wounded. Let's not forget that Purple Hearts are also issued posthumously to all those who fell in battle.
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post #13 of 25
1/13/10 at 12:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JLibourel View Post
The word "hero" is very overworked and misused in contemporary American culture--to an annoying degree. A serviceperson who has been wounded in the line of duty in combat may or may not be a hero. Someone is not ipso facto a hero because he got wounded--he simply got wounded, and according to American military tradition, that makes him or her deserving of the Purple Heart...and that's fine with me.

Well written.

I will add a definition of hero pulled from the internet: a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. So, no, a PH recipient is not necessarily a hero. He could be scared shitless and of below average ability and still get the award.

Living in Eastern NC and being a former Marine, I have known a lot of Purple Heart recipients. One called it his "VC Marksmanship Medal".
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post #14 of 25
1/13/10 at 1:58pm
A hero doesn't tap his chest and let you know that he recieved a Purple Heart. A hero will never regale you with "war stories". They will never tell you about the time their buddy was shot, and the sick empty feeling one gets as he helplessly held his buddy in his arms and watched his best friend take his last breath. A hero doesn't come home and tell his friends about the time he had to recover body parts from the latest Vehicle Borne IED blast to hit his platoons patrol. Never going into detail about how IED blasts can literally cause the skin to melt and attach the victim to the seat fabric so that you have to rip the deceased driver out of the chair as if the driver was velcro'd in place. Fuck those medal tappers. Sadly it appears not many of you know any "hero's". I served in the Infantry, I know a few hero's; some recognized and awarded as such, and others not. If you do want to play the medal game, the only ones that tend to indicate "heroism" would have a "V" (valor) device attached. A CPT serving on administrative staff will get a Bronze Star just for deploying, not heroic.
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post #15 of 25
1/13/10 at 7:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustinW View Post
My dad was nearly killed by Hugh Heffner in Viet Nam .....

His reinforced company was laying around after a weeklong patrol through some swampland East of Khe Sanh. They were all exhausted and soaked to the bone, so after digging foxholes, most of the marines were laying down soaking up the remaining sunlight before dusk. Half asleep and still recovering from malaria ... he noticed the sky getting darker .... and darker ... and darker. He rolled out of the way just before a small pallet landed exactly were he was laying. Turns out one of the pilots in helicopter flying overhead decided to send a little care package to the grunts in the field - dumping a small palette of Playboy magazines out the door several hundred feet up.

This would NOT have qualified for a purple heart.

Being crushed by beautiful women is everymans dream.. Also this reminds me of another movie joke (I wanna say GMVN, but I may be off) The punchline was "Oh it was purple alright, but I don't think it was his heart" (or somesuch)
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