![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/purple-heart-300x199.jpg\")
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August 7 is called variously National Purple Heart Day,\u00a0 Purple Heart Appreciation Day, and Purple Heart Recognition Day.<\/p>\n
As you probably already know, the Purple Heart’s lineage dates to the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n
The Purple Heart was first created on August 7, 1782 by the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, General George Washington. Then known as the Badge of Military Merit, it was awarded to 3 Revolutionary soldiers in 1783.<\/p>\n
After the end of the American War of Independence, no medals were awarded until 1932, when the medal was revived on the bicentennial anniversary of George Washington’s birth. According to a circular dated February 22, 1932, Purple Heart Medals were to be awarded to those wounded or killed while serving in the United States Armed Forces as a result of enemy action on or after April 5, 1917. The United States officially joined the First World War on April 6, 1917.\u00a0\u00a0 timeanddate.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Now here is a factoid I saw which doesn’t square with anything I have ever heard:<\/p>\n
The National Disabled Veterans Foundation says the first service member to receive the modern Purple Heart was General Douglas MacArthur for his service during World War II. In total, there have been 1-point-8 million Purple Hearts awarded over the years.\u00a0\u00a0 MSN<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Think they should say the modern Purple Heart was created by General Order #3, and MacArthur was Chief of Staff at the time.<\/p>\n
The Modern Purple Heart award was established by General Order #3, signed by Gen. Douglas MacArthur on February 22, 1932, a date chosen to commemorate the 200th anniversary of George Washington\u2019s birth. Battlefields.org<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
No matter what – unlike many service-specific\u00a0 decorations, the purple ribbon with white bars is uniform across all services, as is the dependent medal with George Washington’s profile.<\/p>\n
In typical barracks humor, gentle jokes like calling it the “I forgot to duck” award, the “medal that nobody wants” or “enemy marksmanship medal”\u00a0 abound – but honestly, they were all born of gallows humor, and can’t hide the respect we all feel for those who were wounded – or killed –\u00a0 by enemy action.\u00a0 There but for the grace of God…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"