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To Conservomax: The Purple Heart is supposed to be awarded almost automatically based upon (unfortunately,) the death of a service member as a result of combat or based upon hospital/infirmary records for treatment of such injuries. Today the process is fairly foolproof because our recordkeeping systems are much better than they were in World War II. Many World War II veterans entitled to receive the Purple Heart did not receive it because they recouperated and rejoined their units before the records were created. Even if you cannot obtain a copy of your father's discharge papers (It wasn't a DD Form 214 back in the 1940s because the DoD hadn't been created yet!), if you know your father's unit, it is possible to prove he should have been awarded the Purple Heart based upon hospital records. The Army's history office should be able to align World War II operational units to field hospitals. If you know the following information (a) your father's unit, (b) the battle in which he was wounded, (c) roughly where he was wounded, and (d) approximately when he was wounded, the record of his eligibility probably exists in the hospital records.

As a note for all: In World War II soldiers received rotation points for being in a battle, being on a specific mission, being decorated, etc. Many soldiers talked about amassing enough points to rotate back home, but -- and this may be why my father's generation is The Greatest Generation -- many amassed those points (and receiving 3 Purple Hearts for minor wounds would NOT have been enough to get rotated out) -- but remained with their units. I was stunned to learn that my father had enough points from his service in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy to be rotated back home but he stayed with his unit until it returned to Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

Thanks for your great reply and the important info included within. I'm in the process of trying to get a copy of my brother's service record. He served in Vietnam from 1966-67. He died in '95.

I had previously attempted to get information about my uncle's WWII service time. At first I was told that his record had been destroyed in the fire, but then I was told by a WWII vet that I should contact my Congressman. I did so, but was disappointed to find out that because I wasn't his wife, brother, sister or child, I would not be able to see what was in his military record. My uncle died in '64. His wife passed away a few years ago. My aunt and uncle never had children. My mother was his only sibling and she died in '90. Unfortunately, because of these restrictions, I'll probably never be able to verify where he was during the war, or the wound he allegedly received which earned him the Purple Heart.

Thanks,

I wonder if my father would be interested in such a process, he is 78, and I am only 27. I wasn't born until Vietnam had been over for several years, but I must say that the whole legacy of the sixties interests me a great deal ( I just finished destructive generation by Horowitz).

As for my father, the only truly serious injury he had was when a landing craft hit a mine in the South Pacific, he was thrown onto the beach and woke up two days later in a field hospital with a serious concussion. The other wounds were superficial and he was probably patched by a medic and sent on his way. He does, however, have a nasty little scar on his shoulder from being stabbed.

I always knew that my father hated Kerry, but i asked him about what he felt about him as a veteran and he flew off the handle. "How the f*** do you win three purple hearts in 3 months!?" He yelled. I thought to myself, "That's a good question".