The award no one wants: earned through pain, suffering, and even death, the purple heart is awarded to those who have been wounded or killed while serving their country in the armed forces.(HISTORY--AMERICAN SPIRIT)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It is known informally as "the award no one wants" because it is earned through pain and suffering, sometimes death. It is also the award everybody respects and is highly prized by all who receive it. It honors what novelist Stephen Crane called the red badge of courage: blood from a wound inflicted by an enemy in military combat.

More formally, it is called the Purple Heart, a U.S. military award given in the name of the president by the Department of Defense "to any member of an Armed Force who, while serving with the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded." More than 1.7 million Americans have received it for shedding their blood in war, peacekeeping force actions, or acts of terrorism against them. There is no exclusion by war or branch of service. The Purple Heart attests to the bearer having been in combat, and no individual can be recommended for it. Rather, he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria. (See the sidebar on page 37 for technical details of qualification.) The common bond of those who wear it is this: they gave their own blood in defense of our nation.

The medal, the oldest U.S. military award and one of the most beautifully designed of all U.S. decorations, is shaped like a valentine heart. Made of ceramic, it is deep purple in color and outlined in gold-plated steel with a profile of George Washington in the center. Above the profile is a shield of the Washington coat of arms and two sprays of green leaves. Measuring 1 3/8 inches wide, it hangs from a ribbon of purple and white. On the reverse is the back of the shield and a raised bronze heart with the words "For Military Merit." The recipient's name is engraved below. As with other combat medals, multiple awards are denoted by award stars for the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, or by oak leaf clusters for the Army and Air Force. When the recipient has earned multiple military awards, it is displayed between the Bronze Star (next higher) and the Meritorious Service Medals (next lower).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Badge of Military Merit

The Purple Heart was established on August 7, 1782 by General George Washington for enlisted men for "any singularly meritorious action,' Washington, who also designed the medal, issued the order from his headquarters near Newburgh, New York, where the Continental Army encamped during the final winter (1782-83) of the Revolutionary War.

The award…