On August 7, 1782, Purple Heart History began when General George Washington issued orders to establish the Badge of Military Merit, directing the badge be “the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk edged with narrow lace or binding.”
Forbidden by the Continental Congress from recognizing merit through commissions and promotions, Washington created the medal to recognize bravery in combat. It is believed that few badges were actually awarded during that last year of the Revolutionary War. Names of the honorees were to have been kept in a “Book of Merit,” but no such book is known to exist today.
Shortly after the beginning of World War I, General John Pershing put forward the idea for a medal acknowledging meritorious action. In 1927, Army Chief of Staff General Charles Summerall tried unsuccessfully to get a bill reviving the Badge of Military Merit passed in Congress. In anticipation of the bicentennial of Washington’s birth, General Douglas Mac Arthur headed an effort to provide recognition of soldiers who had suffered wounds.
The first newly-named Purple Heart was awarded to General Mac Arthur in February of 1932. Further Purple Heart History took place on May 28, 1932, at the site of the last encampment of the Continental Army, when 138 World War I veterans received the Purple Hearts. At first, Purple Heart History included both meritorious performance of duty and wounds received in combat. When Congress established the Legion of Merit award, the Purple Heart award was refined to apply only to those who had been wounded.
Purple Heart History has undergone many changes. The award was narrowed to exclude those wounded from frostbite and heat stroke, and expanded to include posthumous awards. In 2008, a Pentagon panel rejected bestowing Purple Hearts to soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
