Editing Purple Heart (section)

==Criteria==
[[File:Flickr - The U.S. Army - Purple Heart honors.jpg|thumb|Admiral [[Michael Mullen|Mike Mullen]] reads the citations for seven soldiers receiving Purple Hearts for wounds sustained in [[Afghanistan]]]]
[[File:Army.mil-30837-2009-02-20-130233.jpg|thumb|A soldier is awarded the Purple Heart during a ceremony on [[Coleman Army Airfield|Coleman Barracks]]]]

The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed. Specific examples of services which warrant the Purple Heart include:<br />
{{Ordered list|list_style_type=lower-alpha | any action against an enemy of the United States; | any action with an opposing armed force of a foreign country in which the Armed Forces of the United States are or have been engaged; | while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party; | as a result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed forces; or | as a result of an act of any hostile foreign force.}}

Criteria (c) and (e) were added by {{Executive Order|11016}} on 25 April 1962, as U.S. service personnel were being sent to [[South Vietnam]] during the [[Vietnam War]] as [[military advisor]]s rather than [[combatant]]s. As many were being killed or wounded while serving in that capacity in South Vietnam, and because the United States was not formally a participant of the war (until 1965), there was no "enemy" to satisfy the requirement of a wound or death received "in action against an enemy". In response, President [[John F. Kennedy]] signed the executive order that awarded to any person wounded or killed "while serving with friendly foreign forces" or "as a result of action by a hostile foreign force".<ref>{{cite web|title=The Purple Heart – The Story of America's Oldest Military Decoration and Some Soldier Recipients|url=https://armyhistory.org/the-purple-heart-the-story-of-americas-oldest-military-decoration-and-some-soldier-recipients/|author=Fred L. Borch|date=30 April 2016|publisher=Army History Center - Army Historical Foundation}}</ref>

After 28 March 1973, it may be awarded as a result of an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the Secretary of the Army, or jointly by the Secretaries of the separate armed services concerned if persons from more than one service are wounded in the attack. Also, it may be awarded as a result of military operations while serving outside the territory of the United States as part of a peacekeeping force.<ref name="AR600–8–22">{{cite web|title=Military Awards|url=http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_8_22.pdf|work=Army Regulation 600–8–22|publisher=Army Publishing Directorate|access-date=1 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722181345/http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_8_22.pdf|archive-date=22 July 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The Purple Heart differs from most other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather the service member is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria. A Purple Heart is awarded for the first wound suffered under conditions indicated above, but for each subsequent award an [[oak leaf cluster]] or [[5/16 inch star]] is worn in lieu of another medal. Not more than one award will be made for more than one wound or injury received at the same instant.

A "wound" is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more of the conditions listed above. A physical lesion is not required; however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record. When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award. The Purple Heart is not awarded for non-combat injuries.<ref name="AR600–8–22"/>

Enemy-related injuries which ''justify'' the award of the Purple Heart include: injury caused by enemy [[bullet]], [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]], or other projectile created by enemy action; injury caused by enemy placed [[land mine]], [[naval mine]], or [[Booby trap|trap]]; injury caused by enemy released [[Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear|chemical, biological, or nuclear agent]]; injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire; and, concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions.

Injuries or wounds which ''do not qualify'' for award of the Purple Heart include [[frostbite]] or [[trench foot]] injuries; [[heat stroke]]; [[food poisoning]] not caused by enemy agents; chemical, biological, or nuclear agents not released by the enemy; [[Posttraumatic stress disorder|battle fatigue]]; disease not directly caused by enemy agents; accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action; self-inflicted wounds (e.g., a soldier accidentally or intentionally fires their own gun and the bullet strikes his or her leg), except when in the heat of battle, and not involving gross negligence; [[post-traumatic stress disorders]];<ref>Alvarez, L. and E. Eckholm (7 January 2009 ). [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/us/08purple.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=purple%20heart%20post-traumatic%20stress&st=cse "Purple Heart Is Ruled Out for Traumatic Stress."] ''[[The New York Times]].'' Retrieved on 10 January 2009.</ref> and jump injuries not caused by enemy action.

It is not intended that such a strict interpretation of the requirement for the wound or injury to be caused by direct result of hostile action be taken that it would preclude the award being made to deserving personnel. Commanders must also take into consideration the circumstances surrounding an injury, even if it appears to meet the criteria. In the case of an individual injured while making a parachute landing from an aircraft that had been brought down by enemy fire; or, an individual injured as a result of a vehicle accident caused by enemy fire, the decision will be made in favor of the individual and the award will be made. Additionally, individuals wounded or killed as a result of "[[friendly fire]]" in the "heat of battle" will be awarded the Purple Heart as long as the "friendly" projectile or agent was released with the full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops or equipment. Individuals injured as a result of their own negligence, such as by driving or walking through an unauthorized area known to have been mined or placed off limits or searching for or picking up unexploded munitions as war souvenirs, will not be awarded the Purple Heart as they clearly were not injured as a result of enemy action, but rather by their own negligence.

Animals are generally not eligible for the Purple Heart; however, there have been rare instances when animals holding military rank were honored with the award. An example includes the horse [[Sergeant Reckless]] during the Korean War, and the dog [[Sergeant Stubby]] of the 102nd Infantry Regiment during World War 1.

===Former eligibility=== 
From 1942 to 1997, non-military personnel serving or closely affiliated with the armed forces—as government employees, [[Red Cross]] workers, [[war correspondent]]s, and various other professions—were eligible to receive the Purple Heart whether in peacetime or armed conflicts. Among the earliest individuals to receive the award were nine [[Honolulu Fire Department]] (HFD) firefighters who were killed or wounded in peacetime while fighting fires at [[Hickam Field]] during the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref>{{cite news| last= Antone | first= Rod | title= Rescuing history | date= 24 December 2005 | newspaper= Honolulu Star-Bulletin | url= http://archives.starbulletin.com/2005/12/24/news/story01.html | access-date= 18 November 2013}}</ref> In total, about 100 men and women who served as non-military personnel received the award, the most famous being newspaperman [[Ernie Pyle]], who was awarded a Purple Heart posthumously by the Army after being killed by Japanese machine gun fire in the Pacific Theater near the end of World War II. Before his death, Pyle had seen and experienced combat in the European Theater while accompanying and writing about infantrymen for readers back home.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0803.html |title=Ernie Pyle Is Killed on Ie Island; Foe Fired When All Seemed Safe |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=19 April 1945 |access-date=7 June 2013}}</ref> Those serving in the [[United States Merchant Marine|Merchant Marine]] are not eligible for the award. During World War II, members of this service who met the Purple Heart criteria received a [[Merchant Marine Mariner's Medal]] instead.

The most recent Purple Hearts presented to non-military personnel occurred after the [[Khobar Towers bombing|terrorist attacks at Khobar Towers]], Saudi Arabia, in 1996—for their injuries, about 40 [[United States federal civil service|U.S. civil service]] employees received the award.

However, in 1997, at the urging of the [[Military Order of the Purple Heart]], Congress passed legislation prohibiting future awards of the Purple Heart to non-military personnel. Civilian employees of the U.S. Department of Defense who are killed or wounded as a result of hostile action may receive the new [[Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom|Defense of Freedom Medal]]. This award was created shortly after the [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001]].