Troops with PTSD Could Merit Purple Heart Award

Troops with PTSD Could Merit Purple Heart Award
posted 6:39 pm Mon May 26, 2008 -

It's one of the nation's highest military honors, but should Purple Hearts be awarded to soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder? That's the question the Department of Defense (web) is looking into.

The Purple Heart is the oldest symbol of military valor now given to the newest of the military's fallen and wounded, like D.C. native Staff Sergeant Charles Parker.

"I was just doing my job," said Sgt. Parker.

And so was Albert Lee, but among all his medals for two tours in Vietnam, there is no Purple Heart, and he thinks there should be. "It's needed! They told me because I didn't lose an arm, I didn't deserve it. I was never wounded physically, but I was devastated," said Lee.

Lee's wife, Francis said, "It would be at least some support for them, someone saying thank you."

At Walter Reed Medical Center, the burden of treating PTSD has only increased. Nearly one in five military members are reporting symptoms. Billy Norwood is an outpatient here and he's asking the Pentagon to reconsider PTSD as an injury that merits the Purple Heart.

"I feel that it should be. It's connected with combat. You were being shot at," said Norwood.

It took just two days after he was injured for John Bauer of Alexandria (webnews) to get his Purple Heart during Vietnam. But he does not think it should be extended to those with PTSD saying, "There should be another category."

Richard Lee is with the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and although, it is his job to help veterans apply for the award, he too, believes it will lessen it's value, making it more difficult to determine who should get it.

"It's very hard to select those who might just be on the fringe of being eligible for the reward, until they actually come out with something new," said Robert Lee.

A Pentagon spokesman says an advisory group is looking into the issue,but there is no time table to provide a recommendation.
http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0508/523055.html

When I posted this in March, it was with the thought that there would be opposition to giving a Purple Heart, symbolizing a wound, to the wounded with PTSD and TBI. I thought it would be worthy to acknowledge these two wounds for what they are, wounds caused by service to this nation, no less honorable than any other wound, but wounds no one can see.

"It's very hard to select those who might just be on the fringe of being eligible for the reward, until they actually come out with something new," said Robert Lee.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Renew Wound Chevron for PTSD and TBI

Wound ChevronFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, searchArmy Wound Chevron

A Wound Chevron was a badge of the United States Army which was authorized for wear on an Army uniform between the years of 1918 and 1932. The Wound Chevron was displayed on the lower right cuff of a military uniform, and denoted wounds which were received in combat against an enemy force. The Wound Chevron was a replacement insignia for the short lived Army Wound Ribbon.

In 1932, with the creation of the Purple Heart, Wound Chevrons were no longer awarded to Army personnel. A directive of the United States War Department permitted soldiers to exchange wound chevrons for the new Purple Heart medal. This was not required, however, and some Army personnel elected to retain wound chevrons for wear on the military uniform instead of the Purple Heart. For those who were subsequently wounded in the Second World War, both the original wound chevrons and the Purple Heart medal were worn simultaneously. It is historically agreed that Army regulations did not permit wearing both the Purple Heart and the Wound Chevron at the same time; however, photographic evidence indicates that this was often done by veterans of both the First World War and Second World War.In the modern military, the Wound Chevron is considered obsolete. The decoration is very similar to the Overseas Service Bar, which in World War I was worn on the left sleeve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound_Chevron

As PTSD and TBI wounds caused by combat ravage lives, it's time to do the right thing and end the stigma of being wounded in service to this nation. The Purple Heart is for those who have lost blood for the nation but what is there to honor those who have had their minds wounded? What is there for them?PTSD has been documented throughout history and yet to this day, there are some who consider the wounded as fakers or cowards. We have the most brilliant people in the world working on treating this along with TBI and yet still some want to deny it is real. Hundreds of millions of dollars and many years of research have provided ample evidence that this is a wound caused by combat-trauma. TBI is caused by combat-trauma.

Face it. If they were not exposed to what goes on in combat, suffered PTSD or TBI for any other cause, they would be covered under insurance or workman's comp. These men and women are risking their lives and we tell them their wound is of a lower class of wound, yet when their claims are approved by the DOD or the VA, they are awarded compensation the same way all other "service connected" disabilities are paid out. There is no sub-category. So why do we treat these kinds of wounds as if they are anything less than what they are?

We are not the only nation dealing with TBI and PTSD. England is already working on a medal for these wounds to make sure the wounded are all honored so what's our problem? We already have one that is perfect for PTSD and TBI. The Wound Chevron should be renewed so that any veteran with PTSD or TBI can be seen as a man or woman wounded in service to this nation. They will have this with them the rest of their lives and it's up to us to make sure they know they are honored instead of left alone to feel ashamed for being wounded by the trauma of combat.

Chaplain Kathie Costos

Since then, as the debate began about simply awarding the Purple Heart for PTSD and TBI, I have since changed my mind. These are not wounds to a lesser degree. They are wounds to a greater degree because these wounds are carried over to the rest of the family members and are also afflicting many of the bodily wounded. Do we tell them they have lost a limb and get a Purple Heart for that, but then tell them their TBI and PTSD only count for disability payments but not worthy of any kind of acknowledgment? What if they were shot and were given a Purple Heart, then they were shot again? Do we tell them they already have one Purple Heart and do not deserve another? What if they had already been diagnosed with PTSD, but sent back all the same and then lost a limb? Do we tell them the wound inside their mind is not as worthy as the limb lost?

If it comes between no medal at all because too many still cannot get it into their own mind that PTSD is named that for a reason, because trauma is Greek for wound, then at least award them with the Chevron. Then the bodily wounded can also find the appreciation for their other wound the rest of the military may still regard as a wound to a lesser degree instead of a greater one.