May 30, 2020 · Award Cards, 1942 - 1963 in the Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (Record Group 64) include cards for Purple Heart recipients for the US Army Air Force, many of which have been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog. However, these records do not cover the rest of the US Army.

Without that information, locating a Purple Heart can be difficult to impossible. We do not have a name index to our World War II unit records, and a Purple Heart may have been awarded by the soldier’s unit, a higher echelon unit, or even a medical unit that treated the soldier.

Apr 23, 2020 · Hi Mary, I'm assuming your grandfather was in World War II (and the US Army). If you have your grandfather's separation papers for the military, it should list the General Order (GO) and date of the award. The GO should give the date and place your grandfather was wounded or injured.

Jan 26, 2024 · And there is no central repository for any other awards given during World War II except the Medal of Honor, although some organizations are trying to build them now, 80 years later. Cancel Vote Up 0 Vote Down

Mar 11, 2023 · The article notes that from 1932 until the outbreak of World War II, the Army awarded some 78,000 Purple Hearts to living veterans and active duty soldiers who had either been wounded in action or had been awarded General Pershing’s certificate for meritorious service during World War I. The National World War II Museum also provides some ...

In World War II, they typically wouldn't issue individual general orders for awards other than for valor. So there would be a single general order saying Under the authority of XXX, the following individuals are awarded the Purple Heart Medal for . . . followed by a list of standard name lines.

Sep 19, 2022 · He's referring to the serial number of the Purple Heart medal itself, I believe. Early Purple Hearts were serial numbered. As were early campaign medals and other awards. But I don't believe that, once World War II started, they recorded who was awarded what Purple Heart by serial number.

Aug 21, 2023 · The Purple Heart Medal is awarded to any service member who is killed or wounded in action against the enemy. Documents showing entitlement to the award is listed in the service member's record. We hope this information is helpful.

This includes the Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I) (Record Group 120) series entry Records of Divisions, ca. 1918 - 1942 (P 1241) and the Records of U.S. Regular Army Mobile Units (Record Group 391) series Records of the 1st Through 338th and the 559th Infantry Regiment, 1916-1921.

Within this series, World War II Operations Reports, there are a few boxes that might contain what you're looking for. Some of these contain general orders which might have a brief description of the incident which earned him the Bronze Star. After Action reports also might contain information on the injury that earned him the Purple Heart.