Bipartisan effort aims to honor Purple Heart recipients

In a bipartisan effort to honor Purple Heart recipients, four Pennsylvania congressmen requested that the Department of Defense (DOD) list Purple Heart recipients on their valor award website.

The website is meant to honor service members awarded distinguished military medals and reduce incidents of individuals fraudulently claiming to received those awards of valor.

Congressman Guy Reschenthaler spearheaded the initiative, along with Conor Lamb, Mike Kelly and Mike Doyle. The congressmen penned a letter to the DOD requesting Purple Heart recipients be recognized on the site.

“By listing Purple Heart recipients on the Department of Defense’s valor awards website, we continue the time-honored tradition of recognizing these brave men and women and ensuring they have access to the resources they need from veteran service organizations,” said Reschenthaler, a Navy veteran. “As our country remembers our fallen service members this Memorial Day, I am honored to lead this effort to recognize Purple Heart recipients and all of the brave men and women in our military who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Currently, the DOD’s valor awards website recognizes those awarded the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star for acts of valor. It does not, however, list Purple Heart recipients, paving the way for people to fraudulently claim they’ve earned the recognition.

“More than ever, Purple Heart recipients are in need of various resources and broad-based support as they return to civilian life,” said James McCormick, National Vice Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. “Creating a database to identify verified Purple Heart recipients will not only serve to honor their tremendous sacrifice, but it will also empower our communities with better ability to give them the thanks and support they deserve.”

The Purple Heart was preceded by the Badge of Military Merit, an award created by George Washington in 1782. The Badge of Military Merit, which was awarded for meritorious action, was discontinued after the end of the American Revolution. It was reintroduced as the Purple Heart medal, which the War Department launched in 1932 for wounds received in action or meritorious duty. It was later updated to include service members who suffered combat wounds or death.

There are approximately 350,000 living Purple Heart recipients ranging from World War II veterans to veterans of the recent wars against terrorism, according to the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

“As someone whose father fought in World War II and came home with a 100 percent service-connected disability, I know first-hand the sacrifices that many service members have made for our country,” Doyle said. “That’s why I think it’s so important that we take this important step to recognize those men and women who’ve received the Purple Heart.”

The DOD’s valor award website was launched under the Obama administration to honor award recipients while also deterring fraudulent claims about receiving such awards. But without a Purple Heart database, veteran service organizations sometimes struggle to identify veterans in need of their resources. Several organizations support the effort, believing it will improve services for Purple Heart recipients.

The National Flag Foundation has launched an online petition supporting the movement. The organization’s chairman, Romel L. Nicholas, called it “a long overdue step toward honoring our nation’s Purple Heart veterans.”

Other organizations backing the movement include the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Silver Star Families of America, American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Marine Corps League, Gold Star Wives of America, Disabled American Veterans, Blue Star Mothers of America, AMVETS and American Gold Star Mothers, the congressmen wrote in a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

“The men and women who have received Purple Heart medals for being wounded or killed following 9/11 earned recognition for their sacrifice,” Kelly said. “I am proud to join my colleagues in calling on the Department of Defense to create an online database and website that lists these brave Americans to whom we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude.”

The push for recognizing Purple Heart recipients on the DOD’s valor award website comes as 2022 will mark the 240th anniversary of then-General George Washington awarding the first precursor of the Purple Heart and the 90th anniversary of General Douglas MacArthur re-establishing the award.

“In celebrating this upcoming milestone, we request that DOD honor current PH recipients and commit to recognizing the sacrifices of future service members by listing this honor on the valor awards website,” the congressmen wrote.