Posted on May 23, 2018
Do combat veterans with PTSD get Purple Hearts (or should they)?
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Wounded Warriors
PTSD
Purple Heart
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 15
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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.
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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.
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As long as a physical combat injury accompanies the ptsd claim then, sure.
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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!
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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.
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.
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SGT (Join to see)
Sgt Erle Mutz Negative. GEN Washington did not authorize the Purple Heart. He authorized the Badge of Military Merit in 1782. The Purple Heart wasn’t created until 1917. It is, however, considered the successor to the BMM.
Also, the BMM was not created with the Medal of Honor in mind. It had nothing to do with actions not warranting an MH. The MH was not even created until 1861. And even after the MH was created, it wasn’t awarded or revered as it is today. It took until 1963 for Public Law 88-77 to starndardize the standards the MH. Until then, it was possible for the MH to be awarded for civilian or non combat action.
There are a few main reason why Washington created the BMM. First, before the revolutionary war, in Europe, military decorations were reserved for only officers. As Washington wrote in the order for the BMM, “The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all.” (Note, the only men Washington gave the award to were enlisted, not officers).
Second, while Napoleon is credited with saying, “A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon”, Washington put this into action long before Waterloo. It was as true then as it is now.
Also, the BMM was not created with the Medal of Honor in mind. It had nothing to do with actions not warranting an MH. The MH was not even created until 1861. And even after the MH was created, it wasn’t awarded or revered as it is today. It took until 1963 for Public Law 88-77 to starndardize the standards the MH. Until then, it was possible for the MH to be awarded for civilian or non combat action.
There are a few main reason why Washington created the BMM. First, before the revolutionary war, in Europe, military decorations were reserved for only officers. As Washington wrote in the order for the BMM, “The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all.” (Note, the only men Washington gave the award to were enlisted, not officers).
Second, while Napoleon is credited with saying, “A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon”, Washington put this into action long before Waterloo. It was as true then as it is now.
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