Preview

Personal Narrative: The Real Purple Heart

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
336 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Personal Narrative: The Real Purple Heart
First, and maybe the utmost important, why are we barraged with daily scenarios that have lies intermixed with the communication? Either Trump lied about the "real Purple Heart", or the retired veteran initially lied to Trump. Thye item handed to Trump was a copy!

Next, the definition of the Purple Heart (above) clearly indicates war theater injury or death (awarded posthumously). Trump indicates he always wanted a purple heart, and receiving it via the retired vet is much easier. A tragic comment only viable from a charlatan entertainer. Trump avoided military service during the Viet Nam was via five draft deferments. He could have volunteered to join the US Air Force or US the Navy, but his chose to do what most uber-wealthy Americans do (avoid military service). My military service included four years of service during the Viet Nam War while assigned to the US Air Force. My desire to see, touch or even think of the Purple Heart was far from a "bucket list' wish. …show more content…
While flying back to the Lower forty-eight states from my duty station in Alaska, I recall the no cost "hop" plane ride seemed inordinately cold. No, the Alaskan environment and climate paid no roll in my discomfort. I took a look over my shoulder towards the back of the C-141. The view was of over 50 caskets draped with US flags. The transport carted war dead back from Veit Nam. No, the Purple Heart isn't a national award to be used as the object of a cruel joke (from a wealthy clown.) Actually, I wonder if Trump actually is aware of the conditions under which the award is authorized for presentation to a member or former member of our
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Sergeant Major Daly Research Paper
    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sergeant Major Daly Research Paper

    This how He was awarded the first Medal of Honor. Another time he was awarded for his combat was in Haiti. It was 15 years after he had been in China. He was now an Gunnery Sergeant in the USMC. His troops and himself were traveling along a river when they were ambushed (surprised attacked) by the Haitians, he quickly jumped into action getting his troops out of harm's way. He goes back finds an machine gun and fights them of killing 75 cacos troops. “He was in Haiti and while walking down a river was ambushed he got his man out of the ambush and went back alone retrieving a machine gun and killing 75 cacos and scattering the rest”(Admin). This is how he was awarded his second Medal of Honor. His last major award he got was earned during The Battle of Belleau in WWI. He lead an attack under an artillery strike. That is where his famous war cry “ come on, you SOBS, do you want to live forever’’ (sergeant major Daly). During this battle he was wounded three times, and took out an machine gun nest armed with only a .45 pistol and an grenade. After the battle was over he was put in the drawing for another Medal of Honor. But was not awarded it but the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the France Medaille…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis: The Military Purple Heart
    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis: The Military Purple Heart

    The Military Purple Heart was first awarded in August 7, 1782 as a Merit Award. It was not until 1932 that the award was created. U.S Armed Forces definition for Purple Heart is a medal awarded for wounds received in action against an enemy or as a direct result of an act of the enemy. The Purple Heart has been through many changes but now is awarded for being wounded as before being just an award for Merit. Many of today’s recipients of the Purple Heart aren’t always due to direct fire but from road side bombs (I.E.D) or mines.…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Personal Narrative: The Fourth Infantry Division
    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Personal Narrative: The Fourth Infantry Division

    "Hurry up! We gotta go. We are to bypass 3rd ID in Baghdad and take the northern part of Iraq."…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    "Things They Carried" Response - America's Tab on Vietnam
    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages

    "Things They Carried" Response - America's Tab on Vietnam

    Everyone experiences the cost of going to war when they’re expected to trade or abandon their regular lives for the ones they adopt when they’re overseas. They often trade poor quality life for military, thinking it’s all they’ve got left. In Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation, Tom Paxton sings of the trade the speaker makes for a war he didn’t want to fight, because he has nowhere else to go. He reminds the readers of president Lyndon Johnson’s promise that nobody would have to be drafted but recalls him eventually saying that, “We’ve got no jobs to give you here, So we are sending you to Viet Nam” (Tom Paxton, stanza 1). At that time, most people decided to go to war in hopes that their families would receive money for their efforts. Later on in the Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation, the speaker also lets the reader know of the mindset of one who has gone to war in the hope of surviving and coming home, to replace something they traded to come to war. The speaker is…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Tim O'Brien
    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Tim O'Brien

    In August of 1968 O’Brien was sent to Vietnam and served in the U.S. Army Fifth Battalion, 46th Infantry. O’Brien was sent to “Pinkville” where just a year earlier Lieutenant William Calley and his squad “Charlie Company” slaughtered, raped, and abused 500 innocent Vietnamese citizens. When O’Brien got there his squad and him “all wondered why the place was so hostile.”() After moving up ranks to Sergeant; O’Brien in his thirtieth month was struck by grenade shrapnel and sent home with a Purple Heart.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Desmond T. Doss: A Tragic Hero
    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Desmond T. Doss: A Tragic Hero

    Desmond Doss lived to tell an amazing story about his time in the war. Before World War II, he had lived a normal life. When he enlisted into the military in 1942, he refused to carry a gun or hold one. After the war, Doss lived a long life working with children, dying in 2006. When Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor, he said this quote, “All the glory should go to God. No telling how many times the Lord has spared my life”, (Richard Goldstein, “Desmond T. Doss, 87, Heroic War Objector, Dies-The New…”, March 25, 2006, p.1) Doss says that he should not take the glory of winning the Medal of Honor, God…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Tony Arellano: The Vietnam War
    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Tony Arellano: The Vietnam War

    Richard Nixon, former United States president, once stated, “No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.” The Vietnam War was exhausting for soldiers because it involved unknown attacks brought on by the North Vietnamese. Tony Arellano, a Vietnam veteran, shared out his experiences overseas in Vietnam. He witnessed deaths, injuries, and surprise air strikes. In remembering the Vietnam War, it’s important to note the complex preparations made by U.S. soldiers, complications in air warfare, and all of the lives lost during the war.…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Frank Buckles Quote Analysis
    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Frank Buckles Quote Analysis

    “We lost a living link to an important era in our nation's history. But, we have also lost a man of quiet dignity, who dedicated his final years to making sure the sacrifices of his fellow ‘doughboys are appropriately commemorated.” –Eric Shinseki (Secretary of Veterans Affairs)…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    50 Year Vietnam Memorial Analysis
    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages

    50 Year Vietnam Memorial Analysis

    I was asked to talk about the 50-year anniversary of the Vietnam war. And as most of you can probably tell, I wasn’t alive 50 years ago, so I went to my grandfather who fought in that war and I asked him to recount his experience. I asked him if he lost any friends during that time. He responded with “Hunny, all the guys you are with are your friends. And it hurts to lose any of them.” He recalled for me one individual. Greg. He said “losing that one was hard.” He told me he was a good man who found a Vietnamese child that he wanted to take back to the states with him. My grandfather said that man was later killed in action and the child, lost track of. Ladies and gentlemen. 58, 220 American soldiers died in that war. To some, these numbers aren’t more than graphs, statistics, or numbers on a chart. But to the brave soldiers who fought, each number is a face, a name, a story or a memory. Every number, every digit matters. Let us not forget the 2.5 million soldiers who fought for us. Who fought against communism, against an ideal they felt to be…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mike Clark Narrative
    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Mike Clark Narrative

    Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” War creates many experiences that continues to play an evident role in many soldiers lives. One particular soldier, Mike Clark, globally shares his story of being a Vietnam veteran, and the difficult times that he underwent during the Vietnam War. Clark’s personal story is unique because of the difficult decisions he makes and the factors that cause him to make them. Clark explains the reality behind joining the military and witnessing the tragedies that are experienced during the war. While exploring Mike Clark’s Vietnam War story and remembering the war veterans, it is important to consider…

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Personal Narrative: The Civil War Legacy
    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Personal Narrative: The Civil War Legacy

    The Civil War legacy still has an impact on Americans today. Today, most Americans look at the Civil War in an awe-inspired perspective. People try to skip over the blood and ugliness that resulted because of it, and instead try to focus on the courage and heroic deeds that soldiers performed. Many today are more likely to view the war as a fight for black freedom instead of for state’s rights, which is what it had previously been known for. The South still seems proud of the Confederate flag, even though it is the cause of a lot of controversy. Some people view it as part of their heritage. Certain topics of the Civil War are still well-known throughout society. Abraham Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address, and the Emancipation proclamation are all examples of what people associate with the Civil War. People try to remember iconic people and images like these, instead of the blood, gore, and hate that took place.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Personal Narrative: My Diary Of The American Revolution
    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Personal Narrative: My Diary Of The American Revolution

    The night of April, 18, 1775 I was abruptly woken up by some random man running through Boston yelling “The British are coming, the British are coming!” I was not very happy of getting less than a hour of sleep. This weird man came through around 10:30 PM and woke everyone in the town from there sleep. At first when I heard him say that phase I did not know what he meant by it. I then gathered with my neighbors outside and was told if I wanted to fight the British I had to sign my name on the books in the city hall later that evening. When I went to that meeting later that night they told me to go home get a pound of bread a flask of water and my gun, and to also get a little rest and when the drums sound go stand on the green. So I went home and rested a little and then said my goodbyes to little Johnny and Benjamin. Until we all heard the drums. I then went with my…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Vietnamization
    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Vietnamization

    It is has been about thirty-five years since the last American soldier set foot on Vietnamese soil, but the Vietnam War still remains to cast a dark shadow on American history. During the war, the United States fought to protect South Vietnam from the terrors of North Vietnam and the threat of turning to communism. Despite America’s valiant efforts, it lost about $150 billion on the war, as well as about 58 thousand American soldiers (Gilbert 377). Many people believed when President Lyndon B. Johnson stepped down from office in 1969, that the war was coming to an end, however it was far from over.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Vietnam War
    • 2756 Words
    • 79 Pages

    The Vietnam War

    The Vietnam War is truly one of the most unique wars ever fought by the Unites States of by any country. It was never officially declared a war (Knowll, 3). It had no official beginning nor an official end. It was fought over 10,000 miles away in a virtually unknown country. The enemy and the allies looked exactly the alike, and may by day be a friend but by night become an enemy (Aaseng 113). It matched the tried and true tactics of World War Two against a hide, run, and shoot technique known as "Guerrilla Warfare." It matched some of the best trained soldiers in the world against largely an untrained militia of untrained farmers. The United States' soldiers had at least a meal to look forward to unlike the Communist Vietnamese soldiers who considered a fine cuisine to be cold rice and, if lucky, rat meat. The Vietnam War matched the most technically advanced country with one of the least advanced, and the lesser advanced not only beat but humiliated the strongest military in the world (Aaseng, 111). When the war was finally showing signs of end, the Vietnamese returned to a newly unified communist country while the United Stated soldiers returned to be called "baby killers", and were often spat upon. With the complexities of war already long overdrawn because of the length of the war it is no wonder the returning solders often left home confused and returned home insane. Through an examination of the Vietnam War, in particular an event know as the My Lai Massacre, and the people involved with both, it can be proven that when the threshold for violence of a person is met or exceeded, the resulting psychological scarring becomes the most prominent reason for war being hell.…

    • 2756 Words
    • 79 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Depatment of Veterans Affairs
    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Depatment of Veterans Affairs

    There are other plans being put into place, one by the President, and this is the "Veterans Choice Card". This new program will allow veterans to visit other…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More