Military Order of the Purple Heart

Founded in 1958 by congressional charter, MOPH reports 45,000 current members, only a fraction of the nation’s surviving Purple Heart recipients.

During the American Revolution, Gen. George Washington awarded a Purple Heart as a merit award – on purple cloth, not a medal – to three enlisted men. After the Revolution, it became a meritorious award until 1932, on the anniversary of Washington’s act, when Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur urged Congress to authorize the Purple Heart as a medal awarded for wounds received in combat.

The concept of the Purple Heart – awarded to any service member whose combat-related injury is seen and documented by a military doctor – dates back to two of the nation’s most famous generals.

During the American Revolution, Gen. George Washington awarded a Purple Heart as a merit award – on purple cloth, not a medal – to three enlisted men. After the Revolution, it became a meritorious award until 1932, on the anniversary of Washington’s act, when Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur urged Congress to authorize the Purple Heart as a medal awarded for wounds received in combat.

“Those awarded a Purple Heart contact us, typically their local chapter, which they probably heard about through word-of-mouth. Membership has been almost flat as we lose World War II vets, even as the OEF/OIF veterans come in,” said National Service Director Jim Richards. “We help with benefits, education, housing and burial benefits, but the primaries are compensation benefits, including going before the VA with their power of attorney.

“And we are with that veteran throughout the process. For example, a Vietnam veteran wounded in combat can go to the VA after leaving the service, have them examine his wound, determine it was combat-related and compensate him for the loss of capability related to it – such as a 10 percent hearing loss. But if an individual puts in paperwork for compensation for a back injury and it is denied, our service officer then will appeal it, especially if there is additional evidence not included in the original application.”

As with other VSOs, MOPH also briefs new members of Congress assigned to veterans committees, testifies about veteran needs and works with the VA – and Congress – to identify and deal with new issues.

“With veterans coming out after more than a decade of war, we have had more people coming to us for help. For example, a warfighter who has been on multiple tours in Southwest Asia wants to remain in uniform, but under the RIFs [reductions in force] forced by budget cuts and sequestration, may decide he or she needs to go to the VA for compensation they otherwise had not sought. And that is part of what has caused the backlog,” he said.

“As the services keep reducing in size, there will be more veterans coming to us. And veterans from all wars are getting older, which increases need. If a veteran with a Purple Heart is seeking help, odds are he will come to the MOPH, the same with a paralyzed vet and the PVA or DAV, but that’s really a comfort level issue. Any accredited VSO will be able to help any veteran just the same.”

The problem, Richards added, is the VA has only so many properly trained people and facilities to deal with the increasing number of claims reaching them.

“There is nothing I can do to increase VA funding, but I can keep pushing veterans’ paperwork to the VA for their analysis and decision. It’s not like I’m waiting for a space in the VA computer to open up and take my paperwork; I just keep doing my mission and sending the paperwork to the VA, so I don’t have a backlog,” he said.

“I don’t have to wait for the VA to act before I submit another claim. But once it goes to the VA, there’s nothing more I can do, other than file an appeal if it is denied. The goal of the VA Secretary is to process a claim in 125 days, although I would guess the average right now is closer to 200 days.”

 

Vietnam Veterans of America

VVA was founded in 1978, five years after the official end of the Vietnam War, and has a current membership of 65,000 – all of whom served during that conflict, which, in 1998, the U.S. government officially declared began in 1955 and ended, for the U.S., with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973.

VVA also has taken on the issues of sexual trauma in the active duty military and veteran suicides, both of which have been growing issues since Vietnam but only recently have gained significant public attention.

“Despite the fact our membership, by [congressional] charter, can only consist of Vietnam-era veterans, our motto is ‘never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.’ So the issues we face may start with those that principally affect Vietnam vets, but when possible, we include veterans from other generations,” Dr. Tom Berger, Executive Director of the VVA Veterans Health Council, said.

“We work with the issue of Agent Orange and its impact, not only on our veterans but on our kids and grand-kids. But that issue is larger and we now call it toxic exposure. The result of exposure to burn pits in Southwest Asia, for example, used to incinerate the wastes of war – from human waste to munitions. DoD recently has been touting new incinerators, but we’ve been at war almost 12 years and, up until the past couple of months, our troops in the field have been exposed to the residue from those open burn pits.”

VVA also has taken on the issues of sexual trauma in the active duty military and veteran suicides, both of which have been growing issues since Vietnam but only recently have gained significant public attention.

“We work with the Service Women’s Action Network [on sexual trauma], and the rate of suicides is significantly higher among the veteran population across the board than in the general population,” he said.

“In February 2013, the VA issued a suicide report, plugging in data from the past several years as to the number of suicides of those enrolled in the VA health system. More than 70 percent of those were in cohorts over 50 years old. And we’re all banging our heads against the wall trying to figure out why the majority of current duty suicides have never been deployed.”

After Vietnam, the VVA took on a problem then known as Post-Vietnam Syndrome – now called PTSD.

“With the help of colleagues from the psychiatric community and Vietnam veterans, we were able to get the American Psychiatric Association to add PTSD to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Since then, we have defended PTSD funding to the veterans centers, testifying before Congress and addressing other agencies,” Berger said, adding that is not the VSO’s only such effort.

“We had concerns, starting several years ago, that both veterans and their families, as well as healthcare providers, did not really understand the illnesses and maladies associated with military service outside those the press reports – traumatic amputations, PTSD and TBI – from this current war. But there are lots of others associated with military service people don’t talk about or understand.

“For example, in Southeast Asia there were parasites that, over time, made you feel depressed, mimicking some mental health diseases. So if the doctor you saw didn’t ask when and where you served, he probably would give you pills for depression. But if you told him you served in Vietnam, he might order a blood test for those parasites.”

 

Wounded Warrior Project

One of the most recent VSOs, WWP was founded in 2003 – the second year of the post-9/11 war in Southwest Asia – and reports a membership of 27,000 in support of its mission statement: “The greatest casualty is being forgotten.”

On Sept. 10, 2013, WWP announced what it called “the most statistically relevant and largest sample size of service members injured or wounded since 9/11,” in the latest in a series of four annual surveys of Gulf War veterans.

“Our nation has focused on assisting injured veterans in the current stage of their lives,” WWP Executive Director Steve Nardizzi said. “Wounded Warrior Project is addressing both short-term needs and the life-long challenges currently not considered by most of the predictive research available.

“We use findings of the annual surveys to not only refine and improve our own 19 programs and services, but to help all those working in the veterans service space. As a nation, we need to move beyond the triage phase and address the long-term needs of this generation of injured service members.”

The new survey found higher than expected mental health concerns among the current generation of wounded veterans, with 75.4 percent reporting PTSD, 73.9 percent anxiety and 68.8 percent depression.

“I want to stress the importance of the VSOs and MSOs and the services they provide,” Secor concluded. “I would encourage all service members to join with these organizations.”

“WWP was founded 10 years ago to support the many veterans struggling with physical and emotional injuries,” Nardizzi said. “Our Alumni Survey [WWP’s term for its members] shows us we are identifying, reaching out to and engaging with these service members – when they need it most and throughout their lifetimes.”

Overall, with their various focus points, goals, programs and initiatives, the VSOs are considered by many, including the VA, as among the most valuable advocates and resources available to both veterans and the government.

“I want to stress the importance of the VSOs and MSOs and the services they provide,” Secor concluded. “I would encourage all service members to join with these organizations.”

This article first appeared in the The Year in Veterans Affairs & Military Medicine 2013-2014 Edition