For wounded minds, no medal

The Pentagon has decided that it will not award the Purple Heart, the hallowed medal given to those wounded or killed by enemy action, to war veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder because it is not a physical wound.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a retired Army major. That may or may not be pertinent; however, as an Army retiree I felt I should speak up.

Consider this:

1. A servicemember who is diagnosed with PTSD is very likely to receive some level of compensation in the form of a disability rating by the Veteran’s Administration. This translates into at best compensation, and at least a certain percentage of non-taxable income.

2. A servicemember who receives a Purple Heart can be of two varieties — wounded or killed in action. Actually it’s bit more complex than that and the criteria can be found here http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/awards/ph1.html. However, a Purple Heart does NOT translate into disability benefits nor any other additional VA benefits.

My point is that servicemembers who are diagnosed with PTSD do in fact receive recognition, whether it be in the form of benefits, or an honorable discharge, or a service award at the time of separation. However, a servicemember who receives a Purple Heart, under the present criteria, are not entitled to any additional benefits (nor are their survivors).

Over my years of service, I observed how the significance and honor of military awards were diluted. Hopefully, this is not the case with the Purple Heart, as well as the Medal of Honor. By the way, I see so many people refer to the Medal of Honor as the Congressional Medal of Honor (CMH). The proper name is Medal of Honor (http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/awards/ph1.html)

First off, I don't think a Purple Heart helps any veteran. I think they are mostly for nonparticipants consciences. Recognizing physically wounded vets OTOH does no harm. They do deserve recognition and all the best we can give them. So do the mentally wounded. The problem with recognition is that there are stigma attached to mental illness. Some from jerks who haven't been there, never risked going there and don't even know anyone who has been there. Some stigma exists only in the imagination of the sufferer themselves. Giving them a medal for something they are (undeservedly) embarrassed about might well increase that embarrassment further.

Also there are people who would play the system (not mentioning John Kerry by name), thus cheapening the Purple Heart for all recipients.

You are exactly right. PTSD is real but there are acres of gray area.

I know people in the NYC area who had nothing to do with the action on September 11th but who have exhibited symptoms of PTSD since that day.

Some people are just emotionally more fragile than others.

I struggle to see the distinction, but perhaps you can clarify my thinking on this.

With the exception of Hanoi John Kerry -
The requirement for the Purple heart is that it be a physical wound resulting from enemy action, serious enough to require the attention of a medical officer - a doctor.
Minor wounds treated my a medic alone did not qualify.
Wounds resulting from accidents did not qualify.
Self inflicted wounds did not qualify.
Only serious wounds received from the enemy in combat qualified.

Injuries resulting from fright did not qualify - banging your head running to a bunker didn't qualify. The recipient had to be in direct combat - in the old days it was referred to as "Seeing the Elephant", the Purple Heart indicated you had been in combat.

Rebecca never saw combat. She never fired a shot or was shot at. Yes, she was under stress - but how many soldiers in a combat area aren’t under stress? PTSD is not limited to war or combat. People suffer PTSD resulting from stress - fires, accidents, crimes ... it has nothing to do with combat.

Many people like me have pride in our Purple Hearts. It show we were in combat. To include a “mental wound” would devalue it to the level of a Campaign Medal. A high percentage of people serving in a combat theater develop PTSD to an extent. Even without combat it is generally a high stress environment.
I too had trouble with PTSD, but I don’t think I should have a second award.

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