In Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 889 Commander Bob Martin's opinion, the Purple Heart is an honor that absolutely should be awarded to those who have earned it.

"The Purple Heart is given to people who paid the ultimate price," he said Thursday. "Those who got it and didn’t make that ultimate price, they were in lockstep. They almost paid the ultimate price. The guy who got it, he gave the government a check and told them to cash it with his life."

Today is Purple Heart Day. First observed in 2014, Purple Heart Day is a time to recognize and honor those who were wounded or killed by enemy weapons while serving their country or while kept as prisoners of war.

Martin, an Army veteran and three-time Purple Heart recipient who was burned and hit by shrapnel during four tours in Vietnam, recounted how two of his friends, Al and George, got separated from their unit while under fire from rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

"Al lost his leg and his eye," Martin said. "George had to take his bootlace out and do a tourniquet."

Al and George had to wait out the firefight under the cover of night, keeping as quiet as possible until the enemy forces finally retreated.

"In the morning, everyone came down and even the colonel came down," Martin said. "Al’s leg, you knew it was going to go. His eye was bandaged to his cheek."

As Al was carried away on a stretcher, he began say something Martin will always remember.

"He goes, 'I’m sorry guys, I'm sorry,'" Martin said. "I said, 'Al you got nothing to be sorry about.'"

He said he was sorry to leave them shorthanded, Martin said.

"He’s lying there with no eye and his leg's gone," Martin said. "These, to me, are true heroes. I remember the day that happened, Aug. 13, 1967." 

George and Al are still alive, and several years after the war George received a Silver Star for saving Al's life.

"Guess who pinned it on him? Not a general, not a senator," Martin said. "The guy who pinned the Silver Star on George was Al."

Martin said longtime VFW member, fellow Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient Joe Kaczmar, who was a Navy Seal, actually has the rifle of the enemy that shot him.

"It's significant because I was wounded three times, but I sure don’t have the weapons," Martin said. "I’d like to know exactly how that happened." 

Two-time Purple Heart recipient and Vietnam veteran Len Crosby, who is chief of staff for the Idaho Department of the Military Order of the Purple Heart and active with several other veteran organizations, said the Purple Heart is "the award you never want."

"It means a great deal to those of us who have it because we’re a brotherhood of veterans who’ve been there, done that and got shot," he said.

Here are a few facts about the Purple Heart:

• The Purple Heart was created by George Washington. In 1782, Washington, then the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, created the Badge of Military Merit — the Purple Heart’s predecessor. He designed it in the form of a cloth purple heart to be given to soldiers who displayed “unusual gallantry in battle” and “extraordinary fidelity and essential service.” 

• The first Purple Heart recipient was Sgt. William Brown, a Continental Army soldier. Then called the Badge of Military Merit, the award was bestowed on Brown in 1783 for his service during the Battle of Yorktown. 

• Gen. Douglas MacArthur revived and redesigned the Purple Heart in 1932. The Badge of Military Merit had not been awarded since the Revolution, so MacArthur worked to reinstate it as the Purple Heart medal to mark Washington’s 200th birthday. The new medal was created as a combat decoration for commendable action as well as for soldiers who were wounded or killed in combat. In 1944, the Purple Heart became a decoration only for those wounded or killed in enemy action.

• John F. Kennedy is the only president to have earned a Purple Heart. A lieutenant in the Navy during World War II, Kennedy's back was injured when his patrol torpedo boat collided with a Japanese destroyer. 

• Vietnam War veteran Curry T. Haynes Jr. received a record 10 Purple Hearts. Haynes, who served in the Army, was wounded during an attack in 1967, which led to his first Purple Heart. The other nine were awarded for the wounds he received during an attack in 1968. Haynes died in 2017 from cancer.   

Martin said the American public, whether they fully understand or not, should know these heroes and know their stories.

"A first step is telling somebody," he said. "I understand these stories because I was there. I can go, 'Oh man I know how bad that was,' but they should at least be told."

In a guest opinion that appeared in The Press on Purple Heart Day 2024, Crosby wrote that more than 1.8 million men and women have received the Purple Heart medal, and about 600,000 of those medals were presented to family members because the service member died in combat, according to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. 

"To recipients of the Purple Heart and their families, I say: Your sacrifices were not in vain," Crosby wrote. "Your pain is our shared responsibility, and your triumph is our collective pride. Your acts of selfless valor continue to be an inspiration, and a beacon of honor which reflects the true meaning of the often-misused word: 'Patriot.' Your legacy will live on."

    Military veterans Dale Wilson, North Idaho College President Nick Swayne and Len Crosby are pictured in April 2023 when NIC was designated as a Purple Heart College. Today is Purple Heart Day, a time to honor those who were wounded or killed at the hands of enemies while serving their country.