during a Japanese attack on the USS Iowa on June 5, 1942. Epstein burned his right hand on~ a steam valve.

George Harris Co~ander, USN" 77072

PURPLE Terrorist attacks on 9/11. As Dr. Charles R McDowell showed in a recent Planchet Newsletter, the Army awarded 58 Purple Hearts to soldiers wounded when al Qaeda terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.12 Among those awarded the Purple Heart for injuries received in the resulting explosion and fire was Lieutenant Colonel Brian D. Birdwell. Birdwell was burned over 60 percent of his body; nearly half were third-degree burns. 13

Gas (mustard, chlorine).

~or wounds received as a Japanese prisoner of war. ~

Ref~-Ltr dated 19 Mar 1946 from Capt. A.L. Maher, USN, to SecNav recommending award .for prisoner of war cruelly beaten by the Japs. 1st End. from Board dated 21 March 1946, ser. QB4-VDB approving award of P.H.

4/12/46 jk~ 1/ rc

Figure 13: Award card approving the Purple Heart for Commander Whiting.

World War I. Figures 11 and 12 show that Private First

Class Robert E. Gess received a Purple Heart as a result

of being gassed near Chery-Chartreuve on August 14,

1918. The War Department directed his Purple Heart be

engraved and mailed to him on September 9, 1935.

Examples of qualifying wounds: Other injuries

Since 1932, various injuries have qualified for the Purple Heart. At times, the Army and the Navy have been very liberal in interpreting their award criteria.

Beatings.

World War H. The Navy awarded Commander George H. Whiting a Purple Heart for injuries received after having been "cruelly beaten by the Japs" on May 30, 1943. The Navy Board of Decorations and Medals award card approving the Purple Heart is at Figure 13.

Cold War. Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, the Commanding Officer of the USS Pueblo, was taken prisoner by the North Koreans after the Pueblo was captured in international waters on January 28, 1968. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds he received while being beaten in captivity. At Figure 14 is Commander Bucher receiving the decoration.

Viemam. The Air Force awarded Colonel George E. Day

the Purple Heart for the repeated beatings he suffered

during 5 years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi. Day’s

photograph is at Figure 15. The recipient of every single Air Force decoration for combat-related gallantry, including the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross, Day is the most highly decorated living American.

Drowning.

World War H. Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller, a hero at Pearl Harbor and the first African-American recipient of the Navy Cross, was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart when he drowned as a result of enemy action in 1943. Figure 16 shows Miller after Admiral Chester Nimitz presented him his Navy Cross aboard the USS Enterprise in early 1942.

Viemam. On April 21, 1967, Staff Sergeant Paul A. Hasenbeck, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regt., 196th Light Infantry Brigade, was presumed to have drowned when the sampan on which he was a passenger disappeared. Initially, Hasenbeck was declared "Missing- in-Action;" later, this status was changed to "Presumed Dead." But, as Hasenbeck had been on a combat patrol when he drowned, the Army decided that his death was as a result of enemy action and issued his next-of-kin a Purple Heart. Figure 17 shows his officially machine- engraved Purple Heart.

Eardrum perforation.

World War H. While partial deafness incurred while in action with the enemy (e.g. while firing an artillery piece) did not satisfy the wound requirements, the Navy awarded the Purple Heart to Carpenter’s Mate, 3rd Class Donat Chausee for the perforated eardrum he suffered during the invasion of Sicily in 1943.

Figure 14: Commander Lloyd M. Bucher.

Figure 16: Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller.

Figure 15: Colonel George E. Day.

Figure 17: Staff Sergeant Hasenbeck’s Purple Heart.

Vol. 57, No. 2 15

4, 1942- SPRAIN, RIGHT ANKLE(USS TUCKER).

BoaiA~d- Of ~ecorations & Medals. He Heart. This is the first case of

Board-has approved & the Bureau forwarded correspo~ie~ce in "decision~ folder.

Figure 18: Purple Heart award card for Cook 1st Class Nicanor Salvador.

See correspondence in "decision" .folder.,

Figure 20: Purple Heart award card for Seaman 1st Class Donald Everett Price.

Re~,erred case to Board of Decorations & ,.Me~als, . ~i~tZod to.PurpZe Heart. This is the

ION IFOOT that the Boa.rd has approvedthis:~ ~do se~ ~correspondence In "decision" folder.

Figure 21: Purple Heart award card for Seaman 1st Class Stephen Kubik.

16 JOMSA