History Edit

Criteria Edit

Appearance Edit

Presentation Edit

Requests Edit

Retroactive requests Edit Because the Purple Heart did not exist prior to 1932, decoration records are not annotated in the service histories of veterans wounded, or killed, by enemy action, prior to establishment of the medal. The Purple Heart is, however, retroactive to 1917 meaning it may be presented to veterans as far back as First World War. Prior to 2006, service departments would review all available records, including older service records, and service histories, to determine if a veteran warranted a retroactive Purple Heart. As of 2008, such records are listed as "Archival", by the National Archives and Records Administration, meaning they have been transferred from the custody of the military, and can no longer be loaned and transferred for retroactive medals determination. In such cases, requestors asking for a Purple Heart (especially from records of the First World War) are provided with a complete copy of all available records (or reconstructed records in the case of the 1973 fire) and advised the Purple Heart may be privately purchased if the requestor feels it is warranted.[citation needed] A clause to the archival procedures was revised in mid-2008, where if a veteran, or, if deceased, an immediate member of the family, requested the Purple Heart, on an Army or Air Force record, the medal could still be granted by the National Archives. In such cases, where a determination was required made by the military service department, photocopies of the archival record, (but not the record itself), would be forwarded to the headquarters of the military branch in question. This stipulation was granted only for the Air Force and Army; Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard archival medals requests are still typically only offered a copy of the file and told to purchase the medal privately. For requests directly received from veterans, these are routed through a Navy Liaison Office, on site at 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 (the location of the Military Personnel Records Center).[citation needed] Destroyed record requests Edit Due to the 1973 National Archives Fire, a large number of retroactive Purple Heart requests are difficult to verify because all records to substantiate the award may have been destroyed. As a solution to deal with Purple Heart requests, where service records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, the National Personnel Records Center maintains a separate office. In such cases, NPRC searches through unit records, military pay records, and records of the Department of Veterans Affairs. If a Purple Heart is warranted, all available alternate records sources are forwarded to the military service department for final determination of issuance.[citation needed] The loaning of fire related records to the military has declined since 2006 because a large number of such records now fall into the "archival records" category of military service records. This means the records were transferred from the military to the National Archives, and in such cases, the Purple Heart may be privately purchased by the requestor (see above section of retroactive requests for further details) but is no longer provided by the military service department.[citation needed]

Notable recipients Edit

See also Edit