The Military Is Still Giving Out Leftover Purple Hearts from World War II
I’d say that the two most well-known facts about World War II are 1) that it happened; and 2) that it’s over.
Of course, in the middle of it, exactly when the second part would occur wasn’t clear. Even after the Germans had surrendered, the Japanese were holding out. Although two atomic bombs changed that pretty quickly, the military had to prepare for every eventuality, including a full-on invasion of Japan. One that would have resulted in high levels of American casualties.
As a particularly dark form of housekeeping to ready themselves for that possibility, the military produced a mind-boggling 1.5 million Purple Heart medals. Given that Purple Hearts are only awarded to service members injured or killed in combat, it’s a grim bit of predictive manufacturing. When Japan surrendered before that invasion came to pass, the government found itself with a whole lot of leftover medals — roughly 495,000 in all.
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It was a nice problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.
In maybe the only example of the military avoiding wasteful spending ever, they decided to hold onto them for future heroes. And so, ever since, anyone who has received a Purple Heart, no matter what conflict they were involved in, had a good chance of getting a vintage Purple Heart, stemming all the way from our battle with the Axis Powers. It wasn't, in fact, until 1976 that there was even a need to consider making more, and while supplemental medals were minted, that World War II stash has continued to stand the test of time.
