The Purple Heart is awarded to military members who are injured and killed in combat, through an act of terrorism or by friendly fire. It acknowledges the physical sacrifice of service to the nation.

After serving in the Marines from 1989 through 1993, Paul John Herbert, 54, started telling a false story in 2010 about sustaining a traumatic brain injury in a roadside explosion in Iraq, according ...

Both the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart came from the Badge of Military Merit. It was the first award meant for enlisted troops. Before this, the only way to recognize heroism by an enlisted ...