Do combat veterans with PTSD get Purple Hearts (or should they)?

2018-05-23T08:49:38-04:00

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made May 23 at 2018 9:16 AM

2018-05-23T09:16:27-04:00

No we don't. I am uncomfortable getting a PH for a mental condition, while standing to a troop with 1 or more missing limbs.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 23 at 2018 9:39 AM

2018-05-23T09:39:59-04:00

https://www.hrc.army.mil/tagd/purple%20heart

Examples of injuries or wounds which clearly do not justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:
•Frostbite (excluding severe frostbite requiring hospitalization from 7 December 1941 to 22 August 1951).
•Trench foot or immersion foot.
•Heat stroke.
•Food poisoning not caused by enemy agents.
•Chemical, biological, or nuclear agents not released by the enemy.
•Battle fatigue.
•Disease not directly caused by enemy agents.
•Accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action.
•Self-inflicted wounds, except when in the heat of battle and not involving gross negligence.
•Post traumatic stress disorders.
•Airborne (for example, parachute/jump) injuries not caused by enemy action.
•Hearing loss and tinnitus (for example: ringing in the ears).
•Mild traumatic brain injury or concussions that do not either result in loss of consciousness or restriction from full duty for a period greater than 48 hours due to persistent signs, symptoms, or physical findings of impaired brain function.
•Abrasions and lacerations (unless of a severity to be incapacitating).
•Bruises (unless caused by direct impact of the enemy weapon and severe enough to require treatment by a medical officer).
•Soft tissue injuries (for example, ligament, tendon or muscle strains, sprains, and so forth).
•First degree burns.

I have to agree with SGM Bill Frazer. I couldn't accept a PH for it.

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Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made May 23 at 2018 10:27 AM

2018-05-23T10:27:33-04:00

We do not. Nor did I want one.

Response by 1SG Cj Grisham made May 23 at 2018 12:03 PM

2018-05-23T12:03:30-04:00

No, and no. As someone with combat-related PTSD and the survivor of two suicide attempts, I don't believe we should get a PH. I'm thankful to be alive and for the people that came into my life to ensure that I never feel unworthy of living again.

Response by SPC Josh McCoy made May 23 at 2018 12:14 PM

2018-05-23T12:14:05-04:00

No no hell no. PTSD does not and should never qualify for the award. And this is coming from someone that has a Purple Heart and suffered from ptsd

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 23 at 2018 12:33 PM

2018-05-23T12:33:41-04:00

No and absolutely not.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made May 23 at 2018 2:22 PM

2018-05-23T14:22:35-04:00

Oh please dear Lord, DO NOT good idea fairy this to some schmuck wanting a bullet on his OER.

Response by SGT Joseph Gunderson made May 23 at 2018 4:05 PM

2018-05-23T16:05:35-04:00

There was a stupid push for PHs for PTSD a while back but no, those with PTSD do not warrant a PH and they shouldn't. Purple Hearts are often something that, at least for me, that is something very sacred. Those who have been awarded the medal have literally bled for our country. As much as I empathize for those suffering from PTSD, as I have PTSD written up in my records, it does not warrant being put in the same category as being shot, blown up, or otherwise physically injured in war.

Response by SGT Christopher Hayden made May 23 at 2018 5:25 PM

2018-05-23T17:25:43-04:00

PTSD, while often caused by combat situations, isn't something that happens on the battlefield and thus shouldn't be something people are given PHs for. Plus, there's no definitive way to diagnose PTSD as being a 100% real and true condition (not saying people don't have it but you can't test for it like you do cancer) and isn't all that hard to take symptoms of. I couldn't fake the burns I received in the VBIED attack that I got my PH in.

Response by Sgt Erle Mutz made May 24 at 2018 12:02 AM

2018-05-24T00:02:10-04:00

ONLY 'if' they are wounded in combat , as a result of an 'enemy altercation'.
It started out as an award that General George Washington wanted his soldiers to have for an 'above and beyond' effort (in combat) but not quite enough to 'warrant' a Medal of Honor.

Response by Sgt Erle Mutz made Jun 5 at 2018 12:35 AM

2018-06-05T00:35:09-04:00

The question seems to be inverted a bit. Combat Veterans (who are 'wounded' as a result of combat with an enemy) do get a Purple Heart, and PTSD may be a secondary result of the action which resulted in the original injury. ie: a mortar round lands in a foxhole in front of you, blows up your buddies, and you get wounded by shrapnel and start to bleed heavily. your corpsman bandages you up, stops the bleeding, but still you have to help carry the bodies of your buddies to a "dust-off" chopper. Trauma from the mortar round AND the experience of you seeing your buddies dead, not to mention carrying them. PTSD!

Response by Sgt Erle Mutz made Jun 5 at 2018 12:40 AM

2018-06-05T00:40:29-04:00

PTSD can be as a result of too many sources especially NON-combative. They don't all qualify to be rated for a Purple Heart. PTSD can be diagnosed way before you are even a part of any military service.

Response by SPC Kurt Hesselden made Dec 11 at 2019 10:15 PM

2019-12-11T22:15:11-05:00

As long as a physical combat injury accompanies the ptsd claim then, sure.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 4 at 2020 6:06 AM

2020-06-04T06:06:15-04:00

As Prior Service being back Active, I suffer from ASD, which has gotten better with support and just being around positive outlooks. Going to therapy I sometimes felt I was taking a seat someone needed when seeing veterans with Complex PTSD and barely being able to sleep or function. I think that PTSD is a serious issue, but I don't agree with giving them all Purple Hearts, because I feel the medal would lose it's meaning, which gives it to military personnel who left a piece of themselves in battle. Maybe veterans with Comorbid and Complex should be able to, depending on how they received the PTSD, that way it keeps it's meaning but also gives Veterans suffering through things more closure in helping them strive.

Response by SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D made Jun 16 at 2020 8:48 PM

2020-06-16T20:48:02-04:00

Why shouldn't they? They physically survived horrific combat battles, but mentally succumbed to those horrors and mental injuries and, in far to many cases, the results were a suicidal statistic. Give those poor and tormented people an award they so rightfully deserve and earned. May God bless them, for only HE knows how much they are truly suffering.