Back in 2003, I was wounded during an artillery strike in which I landed in a ravine with my full combat gear on. I was lucky. Some Soldiers near me lost arms, legs, and their lives. How I managed to avoid even a small piece of shrapnel from the attack is a miracle I’ll never forget. The impact of the landing combined with the sheer weight of my gear compressed my spine and pinched a nerve. Once we had finally repositioned and taken account of the situation, I was asked for my 1156, which is a casualty feeder card. We keep them in our kevlars in case of injury or death to document the circumstances of the injury. Out of a feeling of a lack of entitlement, I refused to turn mine in. While the pain was excruciating, I was just happy to be alive. So many others were much more deserving of a Purple Heart than I was.
I didn’t realize that this injury would be something that I would live with for the rest of my life. At the time, I thought the pain would go away and felt awkward getting a medal for an injury that didn’t bleed and that I walked away from. In the years since, a few people have talked me into submitting the paperwork to get the medal. I still have the witness statements and medical records to back it up, but the Army isn’t good at processing medals like this years later. Each time, the process became so bogged down that I withdrew my request. I felt like I was shopping for medals and it just seemed wrong.
The Purple Heart is perhaps the only medal that is not awarded, but entitled. It still needs to be officially presented, but once a military member meets the criteria for the award, he/she is entitled to it. There is no recommendation process. Even still, it’s the one medal most troops I’ve ever worked with claim they never want to earn. It’s the one medal they can do without, myself included.
However, it’s still good to see Soldiers get the medal they are entitled to. In some states, there are special privileges that come with being presented the Purple Heart.
Army Pfc. Edward Barut from Waipahu, Hawaii, was one of 12 service members recognized for actions taken Oct. 26 when their convoy was ambushed twice while traveling through Afghanistan’s Tangi Valley. The team successfully overcame a 45-minute complex attack in which insurgents used rocket propelled grenades, small arms fire and improvised explosive devices.
Photo by Senior Airman Katie Justen.
