It's Memorial Day, a day to remember those who sacrificed their lives fighting America's cause for freedom around the world.
Hedgehog Blog has the stories of two more Medal of Honor winners (here and here). The website that lists all the Medal of Honor winners is here.
Breitbart reported today that historians are trying to collect the stories of as many Purple Heart recipients as possible, to include them in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, expected to be opened in New York this November.
The Hall of Honor is being built at a woodsy historic site north of New York City where George Washington's army camped toward the end of the Revolutionary War. It was here in 1782 that Washington created the Badge of Military Merit, which he decreed would be "the figure of a heart in purple cloth."
The original badge was awarded for exceptional performance, not battle wounds. Surviving records show three sergeants received the medal, though Clark said more soldiers might have been honored.
The badge fell into disuse after the war, but was reintroduced as the Purple Heart in 1932. Thousands of World War I veterans received Purple Hearts retroactively _ as did a few very old Civil War veterans. In 1942, Purple Hearts were restricted to those "wounded in action against any enemy."
My grandfather received a Purple Heart, probably during World War I, but I don't know the details. My dad's sister is the last one who might know the story.
Finally, be sure to check your favorite Milblogs for special Memorial Day posts. If you don't have a favorite, try one of these:
Michael Yon, especially his post called "Gates of Fire" or the one on the return of Deuce Four stateside.
Black Five
Mudville Gazette
Citizen Smash
Argghhh!
American Citizen Soldier
And now it's time for me to watch (again) We Were Soldiers.
Happy Memorial Day. May we always remember their sacrifice.
3 comments:
It's good to have you back. We've missed your posts.
My Dad received the Purple Heart. He was on the port side deck of his Destroyer, the USS Purdy, when a Japanese suicide plane hit the starboard side just above the water line. The explosion caused the deck in front of him, where another young man stood, to explode, sending that young man up in the air and then down through the hole that the explosion made.
Dad was hit in the leg with shrapnel but still made it to the valve which was his responsibility to close in that situation, and then collapsed.
Have you read my post, "My Favorite Veteran"? I'd like you to read it when you have the time. It's in my newly created "best of" section.
You noticed that your "Bread Blog" is now linked?
Chris,
Thanks. It's good to be back in my own bed and with my own little dog (Scooter is a good dog, but he's not my Abby).
I haven't read your "best of" posts yet. I think I just noticed them last night, but I had a movie to watch. (I love We Were Soldiers. It was one of the DVDs I took with me to Texas (the nearest movie theater is in the next town over, and it only shows one movie at a time, like in the olden days). My brother-in-law watched it, and he loved it too.) I'll try to read it the next time I have a little spare time.
You might consider sending your dad's Purple Heart story to the Hall of Honor...
Yes, I noticed you linked to The Bread. I'm pleased. ("Blog" isn't part of the official name. We had to add that because "thebread.blogspot" was already taken by somebody who wasn't posting anything about bread or Christianity.)
Well, I'd better finish getting ready for work and see if I still remember the way and if I remember what to do once I get there. It's been a great vacation.
Chris,
One more thing...
Does this mean you prefer vitriol to homey charm? I never would have guessed.
Or maybe it was just too much charm all at once (the way all chocolate all the time can make a person sick--or so I've heard).
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