The Purple Heart was awarded retroactively for wounds received during World War 1. MacArthur himself was the first recipient. It was standardized across all services in December of 1942. However, the Purple Heart is a military award no sensible person covets.
WW2
Show First
Tom Landry: A Hero From a Generation of Heroes
Updated: July 6, 2024While Landry was indeed a jock, he also enjoyed a brilliant analytical mind. Upon graduation from high school, he enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin studying industrial engineering. However, the vagaries of fate soon intervened.
The Lunatic Limey Who Poked a Panzer with a Parasol
Updated: November 12, 2023Running low on ammunition and facing a determined enemy in a built-up battlespace, Digby ordered a desperate bayonet charge.
LT Norman “Puddle” Poole: The Quiet Professional
Updated: February 18, 2023Poole had joined the British Army in 1939 and gravitated toward the hard jobs. With the invasion of France looming, LT Poole volunteered for one of the most dangerous missions of the war.
The Unkillable Adrian Carton de Wiart: “Frankly, I Had Enjoyed the War”
Updated: February 5, 2023Carton de Wiart was raised in a world of privilege, but he was never soft.
SSG Lafayette Pool: The Real War Daddy
Updated: February 19, 2022Oftentimes truth is more compelling than fiction. Such was the case of the real War Daddy, SSG Lafayette Pool.