He was aged between 18 %26amp; 22 in the army on the DMZ in Korea and Viet Nam. I was a little kid when he went in. I remember he brought the medals home but has refused to speak of what ever happened to earn them. I know he thought I was too young then. I'm nearly 50 and I want to know what my brother went through. His boot camp was at Fort Bragg,N.C. in 1967. He then went straight to Nam.
My brother got a purple heart %26amp; bronze star in Vietnam.What site can tell me WHY he got those medals?
This sites below describe what each is awarded for. I don't know of an online source of information on individual recipients. I will put your question on my "watch list" just in case there is.
What you describe is pretty common. The people who were really involved, don't talk... the ones who were not make it sound like they were and it was adventurous... and the kids get confused.
I've read some of the military science fiction by David Drake and reached the conclusion that he "was there" and writes frankly on purpose... to avoid glamorizing what is a dirty job. That is rare.
Aloha
Reply:Didn't you ask him again years later when you grew up??
My brother was there also, and It is my understanding that Purple Hearts were given for a variety of reasons.......very good reasons.
Perhaps a nice vietnam vet would answer this for you...Good luck
Reply:I served with the USMC in Nam in 1968 and received a purple heart for a mortar frag wound in the DMZ. I still have the heart. It is supposed to be awarded for being wounded/killed by enemy action. There were some guys who would jump onto barb wire during "incoming" and would even get it for that! I was wounded in an op on the Bien Ha River or something, separating North from South Viet Nam and there was a CBS correspondent wounded by the same shell. I don't know his name. A fellow Marine in our platoon, whose last name was Soares, from Mass. died from the sharpnel he took from same shell. I found his name on the Viet Nam memorial 15 yrs or so ago.
The bronze star is awarded for heroism beyond normal duty. There are different levels. The next higher levels are the silver star and Congressional Medal of Honor, depending on what the recipient achieved and how much danger he underwent.
A lot of guys wouldn't talk about Nam because they were embarrassed, some because the memories were painful. My daughter had to do a school project last year and I wrote her some info and sent her a photo of my "heart" and she got and "A". I also had a buddy, whose daughter did the same thing a few years back and she got an "A". I don't mind at all talking about these things, but I know from my service in Nam that it was a very stressful event for many servicemen, which they would rather forget.
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