Our object collection contains hundreds of medals, and prominent among these is a large selection of Purple Hearts.  They are simple medals, but behind each of them is a story of heroism and sacrifice.  Here, we take a look at some of our Purple Hearts and how they were rewarded. The Purple Heart and its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, is awarded by the President to those killed or wounded while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  These stories detail over a million other similar ones of sacrifice, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice, that this special award represents.

The Purple Heart displays a bust of George Washington.

Robert Miles Todd: Born in Cincinnati in 1897, Robert Todd served with the 17th Aero Squadron and would become an Ace, shooting down his 5th victim on August 26th, 1918. Unfortunately, on that day the odds were against Todd, with only 8 Americans vs 40 German Fokkers, and Todd was shot down.  Although he survived the resulting crash, he would be injured in it.  It was because of these injuries that he would received the Purple Heart.  In his memoir, Sopwith Camel Fighter Ace, he recounts how German women abused him on the way to prisoner of war camp, where he would stay till the end of the war. 

Miles Todd in front on his Camel.  Like many World War One Veterans, he was awarded his Purple Heart several years after the conflict, in 1982.

USMC Maj. Hyde Phillips: From Laguna Beach, CA, Hyde Phillips served in both World War Two and the Korean War.  He eventually attained the status of Ace, with 5 confirmed kills. On August 14, 1952 while flying a Vought AU-1 Corsair with Marine Attack Squadron 212, his engine quit, forcing him to make an emergency landing.  Unfortunately, the Corsair burned upon the landing, killing Major Phillips. 

Maj. Hyde Phillips in World War Two.  We received his Purple Heart in its original case.

Benjamin Opperman: The 15th Air Force suffered over 21,000 casualties during the Second World War.  One of these was 2nd Lt. Benjamin Opperman, who served as a navigator on board a Consolidated B-24 Liberator of the 747th Squadron, 456th Bomb Group. On February 27, 1945 on a bombing mission to Augsberg Germany, the Liberator Opperman was in took a direct hit by flak.  All 10 on board were killed. 

2nd Lt. Benjamin S. Opperman stands 2nd from the right.  In addition to his Purple Heart, his dog tags were donated to the Museum. 

Dudley Oatman: One of our most unique Purple Hearts comes from the Dudley Oatman collection.  Oatman flew the Bell AH-1 Cobra in Vietnam.  In April of 1968, he was wounded in combat when he was shot in the arm.  Not only did he receive the Purple Heart for his bravery, he retained the bullet that hit him.  He continued to serve until 1986, and has since volunteered at our Museum.

Dudley Oatman in his Cobra (bottom).  The bullet that hit him can clearly be seen next to his Purple Heart.  In the middle are the ribbons of the medals he received, in addition to the Purple Heart, ribbons representing his Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star are present.

Douglas E. Reinhardt: Air Force Pilot, Edwin Douglas Reinhardt was born March 24, 1921 in Brecksville, Ohio. He attended Ohio University on an athletic scholarship for two years before enlisting in the US Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet in 1942.  After completing the Republic P-47 pilot training, he was assigned to the 353rd Fighter Group 352nd Fighter Squadron in England.  During WWII he achieved classification as an ‘Ace’ and received several medals including the Air Medal, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.  We house his collection and photos from it have been digitized and placed on Flickr here.

The back of Reinhardt's medal shows the inscription "For Military Merit."  In addition to the Purple Heart, Reinhardt received the Distinguished Flying Cross from Brigadier General Woodburg.

Joseph Staller: An infantryman, Joseph Staller was onboard a Liberty Ship, the SS Edward N. Westcott on January 12, 1945 when it was struck by a Kamikaze.  Westcott survived, and was awarded the Purple Heart.  The Wescott was one of 5 troop transport ships attacked that day by Kamikazes. 

In addition to his Purple Heart, a Kamikaze flag was also donated to the Museum at the same time.  It is unclear if this flag was carried on the actual attack on Staller's ship, but there is blood on it, so it could be! 

You will find more Purple Hearts and other digitized objects from our Curatorial Collection here!