thedrifter
02-21-07, 01:27 PM
Mo. lawmaker seeks Purple Heart equity
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 21, 2007 12:29:25 EST
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., wants to give women who are awarded the Purple Heart the same benefits as men who receive the honor.
Men who receive the medal for being wounded in combat can invite their spouses to be associate members of the prestigious military order. But women who get the award cannot do the same for their husbands.
That would change under a proposed bill to amend the congressional charter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Blunt and 18 other lawmakers are sponsors of the measure.
“It’s just a technical change in the charter but one that reflects, frankly, the reality of the way the armed forces work today and the importance of family members supporting those troops,” Blunt said.
More women now qualify for the Purple Heart than before because of their increasing numbers in the military, Blunt said.
The federal charter for the Purple Heart was authorized in 1958.
Clayton Jones, region II commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, said the legislation would correct “an inadequate situation.”
Women have been awarded a total of 287 Purple Hearts, according to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation.
The first female Purple Heart recipient was Army nurse Annie Fox, who cared for wounded soldiers during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
More than 100 servicewomen have been awarded the Purple Heart for combat wounds during the Iraq war.
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 21, 2007 12:29:25 EST
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., wants to give women who are awarded the Purple Heart the same benefits as men who receive the honor.
Men who receive the medal for being wounded in combat can invite their spouses to be associate members of the prestigious military order. But women who get the award cannot do the same for their husbands.
That would change under a proposed bill to amend the congressional charter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Blunt and 18 other lawmakers are sponsors of the measure.
“It’s just a technical change in the charter but one that reflects, frankly, the reality of the way the armed forces work today and the importance of family members supporting those troops,” Blunt said.
More women now qualify for the Purple Heart than before because of their increasing numbers in the military, Blunt said.
The federal charter for the Purple Heart was authorized in 1958.
Clayton Jones, region II commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, said the legislation would correct “an inadequate situation.”
Women have been awarded a total of 287 Purple Hearts, according to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation.
The first female Purple Heart recipient was Army nurse Annie Fox, who cared for wounded soldiers during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
More than 100 servicewomen have been awarded the Purple Heart for combat wounds during the Iraq war.