241 years ago on August 7, 1782, George Washington issued the following orders creating the Purple Heart (then called the Badge of Military Merit), the oldest American military decoration:

The General ever desirous to cherish a virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well as to foster and encourage every species of Military Merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear…over his left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth…Not only instances of unusual gallantry but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service…shall be met with a due award.

Originally awarded for meritorious service, with suffering a wound just one type of merit, today the Purple Heart is awarded only to members of the armed forces who are killed or wounded in combat. At one time, civilians serving with the armed forces, such as government agents and Red Cross workers, were eligible. Among the earliest civilian honorees were 9 Honolulu Fire Department firefighters injured or killed fighting fires at Pearl Harbor. Since 1997, the Purple Heart is exclusively for members of the armed forces.

There is no comprehensive list of those who have received Purple Hearts. Until 1945, the award was often presented in battle so historical records are incomplete. One of the estimated 2 million Purple Heart recipients is Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Albert Ireland (February 25, 1918 – November 16, 1997) who earned 9 Purple Hearts (5 in WWII and 4 in Korea) before returning home to serve as a firefighter in Cold Spring, NY.

Another is Air Force Staff Seargeant Max Bergen (December 22, 1923 – April 23, 2020) of Chippewa Falls, WI, a tailgunner in WWII who was shot down over Brunswick, Germany. He was taken prisoner immediately after the crash and held as a POW for more than a year. He had all but given up on the possibility of verifying his combat wounds until June 2018 when his son enlisted the help of his senator. On receiving the Purple Heart at age 94, he said:

“I don’t know if words can accurately describe how I feel. . . . I didn’t realize it would mean so much to me, but it does.”