Presidential candidate John Kerry receieved three purple hearts in Vietnam, a decoration given to those who suffer wounds while in battle. One of these medals appeared to have been given to him on the basis of a cut finger, which the medical corpsman treated with bactine and a bandaid.
Is this kosher? I would have thought that such a decoration involes the cautious judgement of a commanding officer…and a rather serious wound.
So, SHOULD a cut finger entitle somone to such a prestigious decoration? 
Which is it, does or should? If the question is whether a cut finger does entitle you to a Purple Heart, and John Kerry did in fact get a Purple Heart for a cut finger, then the answer is yes, it does, or at least did at that time in that place. If the question is whether a cut finger should entitle you to a Purple Heart, you’re in the wrong forum.
Any action by an enemy that causes a wound gets a purple heart. No matter what the wound.
Well, what is a wound then? What if an enemy makes you fall down so you scrub your knee a little?
I read the criteria for being awarded The Purple Heart without noting the SIZE or the part of the body injured in order to qualify for getting that award. I’ll see if I can find those regualations.
A few things about this subject, I don’t think the soldier/sailor AWARDS the Purple Heart to himself. Some other person in authority makes that call. I say that because it’s obviuos why this subject was brought up. When one presidential candidate is decorated with a Silver Star, The Bronze Star and 3 Purple Hearts while the other candidate got placed in a non-combat National Guard Unit in order to avoid the war… the avoider needs to attack the war hero’s record in order to TRY to even things out in the press.
And another thing about The Purple Heart… my 85 year old, 3-war Father-in-law was shot down in a Mustang off the coast of Okinawa during that horrible battle in 1945. He tore the top of his ear off… about the top 1/2 inch… on his gun site while getting out of his sinking plane in order to get in to the water. Does a wound like that deserve The Purple Heart? The ear is a small body part as is a finger. My reading of thse qualifications say, yes. No question… They list injuries occurred while in an airplane as a result of coming under enemy fire as qualifying.
Kerry did not get a Purple Heart for a cut finger. Check for Snopes for the history of his purple hearts and other medals.
However, if Kerry had a cut finger, and it was inflicted by the enemy, then it would have been worthy of a purple heart. There is no rule as to the severity of a wound, just that it is the result of enemy action.
Here’s a paragraph or 2 discussing the criteria for getting a Purple Heart…
- A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more of the conditions listed above. A physical lesion is not required, however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.
(3) When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award.
From this website…
http://www.americal.org/awards/ph.htm
Where’d the “Kerry got a Purple Heart for a cut finger” deal start? Anyone have a guess?
Only conservatives who vote Republican deserve Purple Hearts for cut fingers. All others are subject to derision and name-calling.
The wound must receive medical attention from a Medical Officer, as said by Alex-NC. My Dad had shrapnel coming out of his leg until the late 70’s from a wound at Khe Sahn, but does not have a Purple Heart. There was no time to see the doc, he was busy with people who were hurt worse.
Karl Rove…tht is my guess. (NB- I said "guess:, I am not saying I have any evidence to support this)
In Doonesbury land, a cut finger on a beer can does.
FWIW, I had a “Top Kick” who participated in operation “Blue Light”, “DomRep"and Just (be)cause”. He recieved PH’s in all three but never wore them…He said, “what the hell is a Purple Heart, other than a marksmanship award for the enemy?” Not my opinion, his. He has certainly earned the right to an opinion, unlike most of the posters here.
Does being KIA get a Purple Heart given to next of kin?
And eggshell in the eye, in MAS*H-land.
The person who is injured does not ask for the award. The treating medical person may submit the person’s name for a purple heart. One of our guys, in a mad scramble to get to the bunker during a rocket attack, fell down in the entry of the tunnel. Four men ran right over the top of him, blackening both eyes, giving him a bloody nose, and scraping most of the skin off of his arms and knees. Guess what he got.
Another man was removing the top from a 55 gallon drum, using a hammer and an axe (don’t ask). A chip of metal flew off the head of the axe and imbedded in his chest. He was sufficiently embarrassed to refuse the purple heart, since a: it didn’nt happen under fire, and b: he was a moron.
The injury is irrelevant. You are in a combat zone. You are being shot at. Any injury received as a result merits the medal. How many people and manhours do you think it would take to evaluate every single incident based on a criteria list?
And what would the criteria be? Amount of blood lost? Number of stitches? Length of injury? How many times the guy screamed “SHIT!” when some medic poked at the injury? Try to use some common sense here.
Chefguy: I am starting to think you never actually served in any military. You are entitled to your opinion, no matter how silly it is…
Yes, it does.
When Petty Officer Robert Stethem was murdered by hijackers in the mid 1980’s, a Purple Heart was presented to his family.
There are many other examples of this, but this one immediately sprang to mind.
Note that the “enemy” does not have to be the cause of the injury. It just has to be service related in a designated war zone. So people injured moving bombs around in the PI during Vietnam qualified.
My step-brother received his in Vietnam from putting down a race riot at Da Nang. One of the rioting soldiers cut him in his hand with a broken bottle. (Note that the riot by black US soldiers did not make the news back home, of course.)
Kerry has been extremely quiet about the nature and cause of his wounds. He only recently released his records in order to avoid charges of a coverup. He didn’t think it was any big deal.
ftg wrote:
“Kerry has been extremely quiet about the nature and cause of his wounds. He only recently released his records in order to avoid charges of a coverup. He didn’t think it was any big deal.”
Everyone has their own opinion but what evidence do you have that, “He only released his records in order to avoid a coverup.”
Some opinions I’ve read felt like The Kerry campaign people played Rove & Company like a Stratavarius. Bush was on Meet the Press and when asked for his records said they HAD ALREADY been released… which they hadn’t. His people then said they weren’t releasing any more and then they turned around and did release more.
Kerry on MTP said his were released on his website. They ALL weren’t and the Bush people cried coverup… so Kerry releases everything else. Low and behold the records show a remarkable record of bravery in combat… by a volunteer… unlike… ahem. Get the picture?
So now I’ve read a few… compare Kerry vs Bush’s records during VN War and I’m hearing one camp laughing like hell and the other saying, “Never Mind.”
The factual question has been answered, so I’ll close this thread. The question of who deserves what medal is a matter for another forum. Political debate as always is out of place in GQ.
bibliophage
moderator GQ