I just read in Purple Heart Magazine that “James Garner was the first man form the state of Oklahoma to be drafted into service for the Korean War and he received two Purple Hearts.”
Yes, and they were earned Purple Hears, unlike John Kerry’s ‘imagined’ injuries.
I didn't know that!
Later, he joined the National Guard serving seven months in the United States. He then went to Korea for 14 months in the Regular Army, serving in the 5th Regimental Combat Team in the Korean War. He was wounded twice, first in the face and hand from shrapnel fire from a mortar round, and second on April 23, 1951 in the buttocks from friendly fire from U.S. fighter jets as he dived headfirst into a foxhole. Garner was awarded the purple heart in Korea for the first injury. For the second wound, he received a second Purple Heart (eligibility requirement: "As the result of friendly fire while actively engaging the enemy"), although Garner received the medal in 1983, 32 years after his injury. Garner was a self-described "scrounger" for his company in Korea, a role he later played in The Great Escape and The Americanization of Emily.
Good info Mountainlion...always loved his acting & quite the 'looker'! :)