![](media/image1.jpeg){width="6.495833333333334in"
height="1.3194444444444444in"}

**The Purple Heart**

It is one of the most recognized and respected medals awarded to members
of the U.S. armed forces. Introduced as the "Badge of Military Merit" by
General George Washington in 1782, the Purple Heart is also the nation's
oldest military award. In military terms, the award had "broken
service," as it was ignored for nearly 150 years until it was
re-introduced on February 22, 1932, on the 200^th^ anniversary of George
Washington's birth. The medal's plain inscription "FOR MILITARY MERIT"
barely expresses its significance.

\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--

On August 7, 1782, from his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, General
George Washington wrote:

+----------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------+
| ![](media      | ![](me          | *"The General ever desirous to    |
| /image2.jpeg){ | dia/image3.jpeg | cherish virtuous ambition in his  |
| width="1.49930 | ){width="1.4993 | soldiers, as well as to foster    |
| 55555555554in" | 055555555554in" | and encourage every species of    |
| he             | height="2.14444 | Military merit, directs that      |
| ight="2.144444 | 44444444444in"} | whenever any singularly           |
| 4444444444in"} |                 | meritorious action is performed,  |
|                |                 | the author of it shall be         |
|                |                 | permitted to wear on his facings  |
|                |                 | over the left breast, the figure  |
|                |                 | of a heart in purple cloth, or    |
|                |                 | silk, edged with narrow lace or   |
|                |                 | binding. Not only instances of    |
|                |                 | unusual gallantry, but also of    |
|                |                 | extraordinary fidelity and        |
|                |                 | essential service in any way      |
|                |                 | shall meet with a due reward.     |
|                |                 | Before this favour can be         |
|                |                 | conferred on any man, the         |
|                |                 | particular fact,*                 |
+----------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------+
| Gen. George    |                 |                                   |
| Washington's   |                 |                                   |
| instructions   |                 |                                   |
| for\           |                 |                                   |
| the Badge of   |                 |                                   |
| Military Merit |                 |                                   |
+----------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------+
| *or facts, on  |                 |                                   |
| which it is to |                 |                                   |
| be grounded    |                 |                                   |
| must be set    |                 |                                   |
| forth to the   |                 |                                   |
| Commander in   |                 |                                   |
| chief          |                 |                                   |
| accompanied    |                 |                                   |
| with           |                 |                                   |
| certificates   |                 |                                   |
| from the       |                 |                                   |
| Commanding     |                 |                                   |
| officers of    |                 |                                   |
| the regiment   |                 |                                   |
| and brigade to |                 |                                   |
| which the      |                 |                                   |
| Candidate for  |                 |                                   |
| reward         |                 |                                   |
| belonged, or   |                 |                                   |
| other          |                 |                                   |
| incontestable  |                 |                                   |
| proofs, and    |                 |                                   |
| upon granting  |                 |                                   |
| it, the name   |                 |                                   |
| and regiment   |                 |                                   |
| of the person  |                 |                                   |
| with the       |                 |                                   |
| action so      |                 |                                   |
| certified are  |                 |                                   |
| to be enrolled |                 |                                   |
| in the book of |                 |                                   |
| merit which    |                 |                                   |
| will be kept   |                 |                                   |
| at the orderly |                 |                                   |
| office. Men    |                 |                                   |
| who have       |                 |                                   |
| merited this   |                 |                                   |
| last           |                 |                                   |
| distinction to |                 |                                   |
| be suffered to |                 |                                   |
| pass all       |                 |                                   |
| guards and     |                 |                                   |
| sentinels      |                 |                                   |
| which officers |                 |                                   |
| are permitted  |                 |                                   |
| to do.*        |                 |                                   |
|                |                 |                                   |
| *The road to   |                 |                                   |
| glory in a     |                 |                                   |
| patriot army   |                 |                                   |
| and a free     |                 |                                   |
| country is     |                 |                                   |
| thus open to   |                 |                                   |
| all. This      |                 |                                   |
| order is also  |                 |                                   |
| to have        |                 |                                   |
| retrospect to  |                 |                                   |
| the earliest   |                 |                                   |
| stages of the  |                 |                                   |
| war, and to be |                 |                                   |
| considered as  |                 |                                   |
| a permanent    |                 |                                   |
| one."*         |                 |                                   |
+----------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------+

Only three soldiers are known to have received the original honor badge:
Sergeant Daniel Bissell of the 2d Connecticut Regiment of the
Continental Line; Sergeant William Brown of the 5^th^ Connecticut
Regiment of the Continental Line, and Sergeant Elijah Churchill of the
2d Continental Dragoons, also a Connecticut regiment.

For unknown reasons, the medal apparently was not awarded again. In
fact, it was not until October 1927, after Word War I, that General
Charles Summerall proposed that a bill be submitted to Congress to
revive the "Badge of Military Merit." In January, 1928, the Army's
Office of The Adjutant General was instructed to file the materials
concerning the proposed medal. Among those materials was a rough drawing
of a circular medal disc with a concave center on which a raised heart
was visible. Engraved on the back of the medal was "For Military Merit."

In January 1931, General Douglas MacArthur, Summerall's successor as
Army Chief of Staff, resurrected the idea for the medal. Miss Elizabeth
Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster
General, was assigned the task of designing the medal according to some
general guidelines provided to her. The Commission of Fine Arts obtained
plaster models from three sculptors and, in May 1931, selected the model
produced by John Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint.

On February 22, 1932 \-- the 200^th^ anniversary of George Washington's
birth \-- the War Department (predecessor to the Department of Defense)
announced the establishment of the Purple Heart award in General Order
No. 3:

> By order of the President of the United States, the Purple Heart
> established by General George Washington at Newburgh, August 7, 1782,
> during the War of the Revolution, is hereby revived out of respect to
> his memory and military achievements.
>
> By Order of the Secretary War
>
> Douglas MacArthur\
> General\
> Chief of Staff

+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| ![](media             | Army regulations specified the design of the  |
| /image4.jpeg){width=" | medal as an enamel heart, purple in color and |
| 1.4583333333333333in" | showing a relief profile of George Washington |
| height="3.            | in Continental Army uniform within a          |
| 0694444444444446in"}\ | quarter-inch bronze border. Above the         |
| Purple Heart          | enameled heart is Washington's family coat of |
| (obverse)             | arms between two sprays of leaves. On the     |
|                       | reverse side, below the shield and leaves, is |
|                       | a raised bronze heart without enamel bearing  |
|                       | the inscription "For Military Merit." The 1   |
|                       | 11/16 inch medal is suspended by a purple     |
|                       | cloth, 1 3/8 inches in length by 1 3/8 inches |
|                       | in width with 1/8-inch white edges.           |
|                       |                                               |
|                       | Army regulations' eligibility criteria for    |
|                       | the award included:                           |
|                       |                                               |
|                       | -   Those in possession of a Meritorious      |
|                       |     Service Citation Certificate issued by    |
|                       |     the Commander-in Chief of the American    |
|                       |     Expeditionary Forces in World War I. (The |
|                       |     Certificates had to be exchanged for the  |
|                       |     Purple Heart.)                            |
|                       |                                               |
|                       | -   Those authorized by Army regulations to   |
|                       |     wear wound chevrons. (These men also had  |
|                       |     to apply for the new award.)              |
|                       |                                               |
|                       | The newly reintroduced Purple Heart was not   |
|                       | intended primarily as an award for those      |
|                       | wounded in action \-- the "wound chevron"     |
|                       | worn by a soldier on his sleeve already       |
|                       | fulfilled that purpose. Establishing the      |
|                       | Meritorious Service Citation as a             |
|                       | qualification for receiving the Purple Heart  |
|                       | was very much in keeping with General         |
|                       | Washington's original intent for the award.   |
|                       |                                               |
|                       | However, authorizing the award in exchange    |
|                       | for "wound chevrons" established the now      |
|                       | familiar association of the award with        |
|                       | injuries sustained in battle. This was        |
|                       | reinforced by Army regulations, which stated  |
|                       | that the                                      |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/image       |                                               |
| 5.jpeg){width="1.5in" |                                               |
| height="3.            |                                               |
| 0694444444444446in"}\ |                                               |
| Purple Heart          |                                               |
| (reverse)             |                                               |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| award required a      |                                               |
| \"singularly          |                                               |
| meritorious act of    |                                               |
| extraordinary         |                                               |
| fidelity service\"    |                                               |
| and that \"a wound    |                                               |
| which necessitates    |                                               |
| treatment by a        |                                               |
| medical officer and   |                                               |
| which is received in  |                                               |
| action with an enemy, |                                               |
| may, in the judgment  |                                               |
| of the commander      |                                               |
| authorized to make    |                                               |
| the award, be         |                                               |
| construed as          |                                               |
| resulting from a      |                                               |
| singularly            |                                               |
| meritorious act of    |                                               |
| essential service.\"  |                                               |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+

Until Executive Order 9277 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in
December 1942 authorized award of the Purple Heart to personnel from all
of the military services (retroactive to December 7, 1941), the medal
was exclusively an Army award. The Executive Order also stated that the
Purple Heart was to be awarded to persons who "are wounded in action
against an enemy of the United States, or as a result of an act of such
enemy, provided such would necessitate treatment by a medical officer."

In November 1952, President Harry S. Truman issued an Executive Order
extending eligibility for the award to April 5, 1917, to coincide with
the eligibility dates for Army personnel.

President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11016 in April 1962
that further extended eligibility to \"any civilian national of the
United States, who while serving under competent authority in any
capacity with an armed force..., has been, or may hereafter be,
wounded\" and authorized posthumous award of the medal.

Executive Order 12464 signed by President Ronald Reagan in February
1984, authorized award of the Purple Heart as a result of terrorist
attacks or while serving as part of a peacekeeping force subsequent to
March 28, 1973. The 1998 National Defense Authorization Act removed
civilians from the list of personnel eligible for the medal.

The Purple Heart is ranked immediately behind the bronze star and ahead
of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal in order of precedence.

Possession of the Purple Heart medal does not by itself qualify veterans
for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation.
However, since November 1999, Purple Heart recipients have been placed
in VA's enrollment priority group 3, unless eligible for the higher
priority groups (1 or 2) based on service-connected disabilities.
Recipients are also exempt from co-payments for VA hospital care and
medical outpatient care, but not from pharmacy co-payments for
medications prescribed for non-service connected conditions.