17,000 could get Purple Heart under new policy

[thedrifter]

17,000 could get Purple Heart under new policy
10/6/2008, 8:02 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An estimated 17,000 deceased U.S. prisoners of war could be awarded Purple Hearts under a new Pentagon policy announced Monday.

Purple Hearts are awarded to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines wounded by enemy action. But the awards have been denied in the past to POWs who died in captivity if it could not be proven they had been wounded or killed by the enemy.

The revised policy announced Monday by the Defense Department presumes such deaths were the result of enemy action unless compelling evidence is presented to the contrary.

The new policy is retroactive to Dec. 7, 1941, the Defense Department said in a statement Monday.

Posthumous awards can be made to a family member or other representative of the deceased service member. Each branch of the military will announce the process for applying for the awards.

Family members with questions may contact the services: Army, (703) 325-8700; Navy, (314) 592-1150; Air Force, (800) 616-3775; Marine Corps, (703) 784-9340.

The Pentagon had been asked by Congress to review the old policy.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 845-08
October 06, 2008


DoD Revises Purple Heart Eligibility Criteria to Allow Award to POWs Who Die in Captivity

The Department of Defense announced today it has expanded the Purple Heart eligibility criteria allowing prisoners-of-war who died in captivity to receive the award.

The revised department policy presumes, for service members who die in captivity as a qualifying prisoner-of-war, that their death was the "result of enemy action," or the result of wounds incurred “in action with the enemy” during capture, or as a result of wounds incurred as a “result of enemy action” during capture, unless compelling evidence is presented to the contrary.

The revised policy allows retroactive award of the Purple Heart to qualifying prisoners-of-war since Dec. 7, 1941. Posthumous award will be made to the deceased service member’s representative, as designated by the secretary of the military department concerned, upon application to that military department.

Each military department will publish application procedures and ensure they are accessible by the general public. Family members with questions may contact the services: Army: Military Awards Branch, (703) 325-8700; Navy: Navy Personnel Command, Retired Records Section, (314) 592-1150; Air Force: Air Force Personnel Center, (800) 616-3775; Marine Corps: Military Awards Branch, (703) 784-9340.
For further information, media representatives should contact Eileen Lainez, (703) 695-3895, eileen.lainez@osd.mil.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Sun editorial:
Honoring deceased veterans
Long overdue Purple Hearts to be awarded posthumously in the names of former POWs

Thu, Oct 9, 2008 (2:06 a.m.)

The Purple Heart is such an esteemed award that Congress chartered a veterans service organization, the Military Order of the Purple Heart of the USA, that is dedicated to those brave American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who were wounded in action. In cases where members of the armed forces were killed in action or later died as a result of combat wounds, the award is issued posthumously to the next of kin.

The Springfield, Va., organization says on its Web site that the Purple Heart is “the oldest military decoration in the world in present use and the first American award made available to the common soldier.”

Not everyone who is deserving has received the award, though.

The Defense Department announced Monday that Purple Hearts may now be awarded posthumously in the names of prisoners of war who died in captivity since Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japanese forces Dec. 7, 1941. Before this long-overdue shift in Pentagon policy, the awards were denied to POWs who died in captivity if it could not be proved they lost their lives as the result of enemy action.

The Associated Press reported that the new policy could result in the issuance of an estimated 17,000 additional Purple Hearts.

It defies common sense to think most POWs who died while in enemy hands did so of natural causes. It is far more likely that they lost their lives through a combination of torture, starvation, disease and untreated combat wounds.

The Defense Department came to its senses when it stated that it is now presumed that armed services members who died in captivity did so as the result of enemy action, “unless compelling evidence is presented to the contrary.”

It is about time that the troops who lost their lives while in captivity get the recognition they deserve as reflected by the Purple Heart.

Ellie