[mbennett203]

Aren't purple hearts awarded based on wounds recieved from enemy fire? Wouldn't a boil that developed on your foot be outside of that parameter?

Yeah, you're right though, that guy at least required a hospital stay for his wounds. Weren't the 1st and 3rd of Kerry's PHs tiny wounds, that didn't require hospitalization, only forceps to pull out shrapnel, and then a band-aid to cover them? 50 bucks says if anyone of us had the audacity to request PHs for wounds like that, we'd have been laughed out of the CO's office.

[GretchenM]

I think you're right about having to be in a combat situation to receive a PH; a vet would know the whole story about that but there must be some qualifier about a wound sustained in a combat situation, even if it is an infection ... ?

None of kerry's owies required hospitalization.