Pentagon caves, gives Purple Hearts to Fort Hood victims after calling them ‘workplace injuries’ for years

Pentagon caves, gives Purple Hearts to Fort Hood victims after calling them ‘workplace injuries’ for years

Army psychologist Nidal Hasan opened fire at Ford Hood in Texas back in 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 30, but the Pentagon denied them Purple Hearts because they were "workplace injuries."

It’s been more than five years since Army psychologist Nidal Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 30 others, and his victims are only just now receiving Purple Hearts.

It took so long for them to receive the honor because the Pentagon initially treated their wounds as “workplace injuries,” but the 2015 defense budget expanded the parameters for Purple Heart eligibility to include those who are the victims of an attack inspired by a terrorist group, according to a Christian Science Monitor report.

The most basic requirement for the Purple Heart is that the recipient must have been injured at the hands of an enemy, so the new guidelines are in line with that requirement.

Phillip Carter, director of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security, said the recognition acknowledges the changing realities of war, according to the report. “There’s no principled reason to divide the victims of 9/11 from Fort Hood from some victims in Baghdad,” Carter added.

Most people would probably agree that victims of a terrorist attack in Kuwait or Iraq would be worthy of the Purple Heart, so there should be no reason why it should take five years for victims of a similar attack on American soil to receive such an honor, Carter said.

One recipient of the medal, Sgt. 1st Class Miguel Valdivia, was shot three times by Hasan, who has since been sentenced to death after being convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder in 2013. However, he said that while it “feels good” to get the medal, he still struggles with what is known as survivors’ guilt, and he doesn’t feel like he “deserve[s] it.”

The Purple Heart is considered one of the most important medals in the military, and it is often a tightly knit group of individuals who bond over a shared hardship.

There are other troops waiting to see if they qualify for Purple Hearts, including U.S. troops who had been exposed to chemical weapons while serving in Iraq. And it continues to be a thorny issue on exactly who is worthy of one and who should be excluded.

Be social, please share!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail