A surprise in the mail

[LoboGunLeather]

I was the youngest of 3 sons, and since the passing of my second brother in 2023 I am the last remaining. In today's mail I found a parcel from my sister-in-law containing several items from my brother's personal things. In addition to several photos of us as children I found:

1. Dad's honorable discharge from the US Army at demobilization following World War 2.
2. Dad's dog tag and neck chain.
3. Dad's Purple Heart Medal.

These items are now with Dad's funeral flag (1980) and will be given to my older son for family posterity.

The Purple Heart Medal was awarded after a Japanese bullet wound to the head on Guadalcanal that left Dad with lingering effects for the remainder of his life, including splinters of shrapnel in his left eye and narcolepsy (a brain disorder resulting in periods of unconsciousness resembling blackouts). Dad endured these things along with bouts of malaria until his death in 1980.

Comparing Dad's Purple Heart alongside my own (Vietnam 1970) I find them to be identical in every detail down to the ribbon weave and clasp, probably from the same maker and possibly the same production lot.

 

[Timothy2700]

Comparing Dad's Purple Heart alongside my own (Vietnam 1970) I find them to be identical in every detail down to the ribbon weave and clasp, probably from the same maker and possibly the same production lot.

A salute for you and your family’s service and sacrifices.
Sorry I don’t have a reference, but I read somewhere recently that during WWII that when Uncle Sam fully expected to have to invade Japan itself to end the war, he ordered a whole bunch of Purple Hearts. The idea was to have enough to support expected casualties in the invasion. With Little Boy and Fat Man happening instead, the inventory of our Nation’s unissued PH medals has sufficed for Korea, Vietnam, war on terror and everything in between.

So your Dad’s PH Heart looks likes yours for a good reason - just another way you and he (and his buddies and yours) are tied together.
Best.

 

[shell627]

God bless your family and it’s tradition of service.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

God bless your family and it’s tradition of service.

The family tradition goes back a bit further.

I was born on a farm in south-central Ohio that was granted by the US Congress to an ancestor in lieu of salary due for service in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The patent (land grant) is dated 1789, and the original house was built in 1791. Our new nation had very little money, but plenty of land in the new "Northwest Territory" (including what we now know as Ohio).

My older brother and I both served in Vietnam. Our oldest brother served in Korea about 1953. Father and his brother both served in WW2. Grandfather was an Army Chaplain during WW1 as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (gassed in France, suffered the effects the remainder of his life).

Grandfather's grandfather served in the Union forces during the Civil War, discharged after being badly wounded and died at home a few years later.

Mother was one of 11 children of a Virginia family. First husband (father of my oldest brother) was killed in WW2. Two of her brothers died in WW2. Another was crew member on a bomber shot down and escaped via Switzerland (neutral territory) and could not be returned to combat roles, so ended up part of the Occupation Forces after WW2. One of my cousins was also in the WW2 Army Air Corps, then graduated college as an engineer and spent his career at Boeing working mostly on the B-52 programs over the decades.

Of course, along the way there were several others. One served life in prison after a running gun battle with federal revenue agents on the Ohio River while smuggling illegal liquor during the Prohibition years. Another is reported to have murdered a neighbor in a dispute over the affections of a young lady.

History is what it is.

 

[Krogen]

Three treasures. They speak of the man your father was.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Then why is it, that they say if someone wants to get a purple heart reissued, it has to be custom made?

ANd who the heck IS the person that can get one reissued for world war 2 navy personell

I suggest you contact your congressional representative's office and ask that your request be relayed to the proper authority. This should expedite the process considerably.

 

[ordnanceguy]

....Comparing Dad's Purple Heart alongside my own (Vietnam 1970) I find them to be identical in every detail down to the ribbon weave and clasp, probably from the same maker and possibly the same production lot.

Lobo:

I'm glad to hear that your father's Purple Heart medal has now been entrusted to you.

The reason that your medal and that of your father appear to be identical in all respects is because they were both made during WW2. Indeed, at the end of WW2 the military had almost half a million Purple Heart medals left in inventory. (Maybe that is a reflection of the concerns about the extent of anticipated casualties if Japan had not capitulated and had to be invaded by U.S. forces, an event that most observers say would have caused disastrous casualties on both sides.)

Anyway, after it was realized that the WW2 produced medals were getting low in number the Kennedy company was asked in 2022 by the Defense Dept. to begin manufacturing new medals based on the original specifications. A May, 2024 article at Military.com explains the details. Here is the link: For Decades, Recipients Were Honored with Purple Hearts Made During WWII. This Company Now Forges New Medals. | Military.com

Regards,
Charlie