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How To Earn a Purple Heart; Which injuries are medal-worthy?
Topic Started: Aug 24 2004, 04:32 PM (328 Views)
Ngagh
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Huh?
By Sam Schechner
Quote:
 
Yesterday, Bob Dole joined Republican critics who claim that Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry doesn't deserve the Purple Hearts he won in Vietnam. Dole said, "three Purple Hearts and never bled that I know of. I mean, they're all superficial wounds." But is bleeding even necessary? How do you earn a Purple Heart?

A Purple Heart is awarded to any member of the armed forces (including the Coast Guard) who is killed or wounded in action; the severity of the injury isn't really at issue. According to Navy regulations, a worthy wound is merely "an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent, sustained while in action. … A physical lesion is not required, provided the concussion or other form of injury received was a result of the action in which engaged." The other services' regulations include similar language, stipulating, as the Army's does, that "the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record."

In other words, a Band-Aid boo-boo is fair game, so long as enemy action is somewhere obvious in the causal chain. Bruises from bailing out of a plane that's been shot down could count; training injuries could not. (Interestingly, the Army rules that post-traumatic stress disorder doesn't count either.)

The situations that merit the Purple Heart—which was called the Badge of Military Merit when it was first awarded, during the Revolutionary War—have been tweaked a few times since the award was revived in 1932 (on the 200th birthday of George Washington, whose bust appears in the heart). But the changes wouldn't affect Kerry's eligibility for medals in any way. The most significant modifications in the last 40 years expanded the list of injuries that might warrant a medal, adding wounds sustained during terrorist attacks and peacekeeping missions, and wounds incurred from friendly fire in the heat of battle.


Link

:rotfl: :rotfl:
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Hoss
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Don't make me use my bare hands on you.
This whole situation keeps reminding me of a M*A*S*H episode in which Frank Burns receives a purple heart for a shell fragment in the eye. Hawkeye later learns that he got an egg shell fragment in his eye in a mess hall mishap, and he made it sound like a combat injury to get a purple heart medal.

Maybe the F stands for Ferret-face? :lol:
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Ngagh
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Huh?
I truely don't know about John Kerry's military records, and truely don't care, but does that mean that Kerry got 3 little boo-boos?

:rotfl:
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Minuet
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Fleet Admiral Assistant wRench, Chief Supper Officer
^^^2 of them I can't speak for, but it seems generally acknowledged that at least one injury was fairly serious.

The controversy comes with the automatic trip home that comes with 3 injuries. The argument goes (and I am not supporting this argument - just reporting it) that if 2 injuries weren't serious he should not have gotten the trip home.
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ANOVA
Vice Admiral
Quote:
 
A Purple Heart is awarded to any member of the armed forces (including the Coast Guard) who is killed or wounded in action; the severity of the injury isn't really at issue.


Last I heard, the Marines would not award you a purple heart for jumping on a grenade. Maybe my D.I told us that to keep us from being stupid.

The other point is if a wound is self inflicted, it is not awarded a purple heart. Seems the question is whether at least one of the wounds occurred when there was no combat and due to the negligent handling of the mortar by a young self impressed LT.

Still, as I have said about Bush's record, unless the government itself is going to dispute the record, I'll let the record stand.

Kerry's problem is in the fact that he has had to withdraw remarks about his service which calls into question any other claim.

ANOVA
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Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
Minuet
Aug 24 2004, 05:15 PM
^^^2 of them I can't speak for, but it seems generally acknowledged that at least one injury was fairly serious.

The controversy comes with the automatic trip home that comes with 3 injuries. The argument goes (and I am not supporting this argument - just reporting it) that if 2 injuries weren't serious he should not have gotten the trip home.

Actually, there was no "automatic" three injuries and you come home. Instead there was a process to allow those wounded in such a fashion to apply to come home. Kerry knew it.

I noticed something... his actual time on duty in Vietnam was three months and twenty-seven days... doesn't that come out to about 39 days per "wound?"
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cptjeff
Captain of the Enterprise-J
Swift Boat duty was extremly hazordous- you don't exactly have a inch thick wall of steel. these things were fast- that's really all they had going for them. they wern't too heavally armed, and a handgun could peirce that armor. injuries were probably pretty common.
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Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
Um, Jeff... Swift boats haven't been used in 30 years. A handgun could not pierce the hull, and they were mostly used for coastal patrol. It is speculated that Kerry chose Swift boats BECAUSE they were mostly used for coastal patrol as opposed to river patrol, i.e., less hazardous.
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doctortobe
Speak softly, and carry a 57 megaton stick!
I wouldn't go as far as to say that any old booboo should get you a Purple Heart. I remember my Grandpappy telling me a story about how the tailgunner of his B-17 got a piece of flak lodged in the cushion of his seat that lit both cushion and his butt on fire. He managed to extinguish the flames after a bit of frantic movement, but he was denied the Purple Heart.

Apparently he was pretty pissed off about that.
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gvok
Unregistered

Admiralbill_gomec
Aug 24 2004, 09:55 PM
Um, Jeff... Swift boats haven't been used in 30 years. A handgun could not pierce the hull, and they were mostly used for coastal patrol. It is speculated that Kerry chose Swift boats BECAUSE they were mostly used for coastal patrol as opposed to river patrol, i.e., less hazardous.

Was doing coastal patrol less hazzardous than serving in the Texas Air National Guard?
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Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
^^^^
What does that have to do with anything? George Bush didn't make up stories about his time spent in the Texas ANG. Nor did he write up his own action reports putting himself in for Purple Hearts.

In addition, George Bush never testified before Congress concerning atrocities that didn't happen... and no testimony of his was ever broadcast to POWs in Vietnam while they were being tortured.

Hmm, sounds like new material for a thread. This is not speculation, nor is this my opinion. John Kerry's false testimony (which he said was later "over the top") was used by North Vietnamese captors during torture sessions at the Hanoi Hilton.

Has Kerry apologized? No.

P.S. Ever fly an F102? It is a little harder than barking, "Right Full Rudder."
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Hoss
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Don't make me use my bare hands on you.
gvok
Aug 25 2004, 11:30 AM
Admiralbill_gomec
Aug 24 2004, 09:55 PM
Um, Jeff... Swift boats haven't been used in 30 years. A handgun could not pierce the hull, and they were mostly used for coastal patrol. It is speculated that Kerry chose Swift boats BECAUSE they were mostly used for coastal patrol as opposed to river patrol, i.e., less hazardous.

Was doing coastal patrol less hazzardous than serving in the Texas Air National Guard?

Is Bush claiming and basing his entire campaign of being a hero who served in Vietnam and faced all of the terrible hardships and danger?
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gvok
Unregistered

38957
Aug 25 2004, 11:45 AM
Is Bush claiming and basing his entire campaign of being a hero who served in Vietnam and faced all of the terrible hardships and danger?

No. He isn't because he did not.
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Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
Get over it already... we all know that Bush didn't go to Vietnam. We also know what John Kerry DID do, both there and when he got home!

Do you want to talk about Winter Soldier, or his testimony before Congress, or his actions with Vietnam Vets Against the War, or do you foolishly want to close your eyes and hold your hands over your ears and pretend it didn't happen.

Do you really want us to believe that you are a Kerry supporter rather than another of the ABB crowd?
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Dr. Noah
Sistertrek's Asian Correspondant
My grandpa earned a purple heart for a broken ankle he injured during the battle of Guadalcanal. He told me it never healed right because there were far too many other injuries and it was weeks before it was tended to. He walked with a cane the rest of his life, but to my knowledge, it was a closed break, and he didn't bleed. Do you think he didn't deserve that purple heart?
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