DRUMPF's Purple Heart: He's a clod. He owns it as a gift, not as a medal. The vet is misguided. [View all]

[UTUSN]

Last edited Thu Aug 4, 2016, 05:17 PM - Edit history (1)

O.K., so that vet decided to "give" DRUMPF his Purple Heart. It's not only DRUMPF who doesn't know shit, but the Washington Post (below) doesn't either, and lots of dear civilians don't "get" military jargon/customs, either. Where the WashPo says it's "legal" for DRUMPF to "accept" it, all this means is that somebody gave him a present: Somebody who owned it decided to give it to him. It didn't have to be the Service member who originally earned it. The EARNING is totally separate from the POSSESSION of it.

So, this military member (now veteran) earned this decoration. Once it's his (or hers or whomever's), the owner can "give" it like any other possession. Who said that a physical piece of fabric ribbon and non-precious medal was imbued with some kind of magical powers? The only meaning of EARNING it is the event of earning it. The physical fabric/non-precious-metal is a knickknack commemoration or acknowledgment of the event which is OVER.

So, our dad, grandad, other relative, buddy who originally EARNED the medal can GIVE it to whomever. This has NO correlation to the recipient's having EARNED it. The "giving" of it is "legal" as the WashPo says (although without understanding what it is saying).

Now. About what is a "real" or "original" medal vs what is a "duplicate". Down below here, is a veterans website (one of thousands) that sells medals, ribbons, and countless other mugs, license plate frames, or whatever.

I think that some dear civilians imagine that the military bestows all of these knickknacks in some Richard WAGNER opera ceremony. Uh, no.

I have seven little, non-heroic decorations. You get one (National Defense Service Medal) just for signing your name on the enlistment contract during a time of "war" (non-declared or Declared). I got my Vietnam Service Medal when one of my feet set foot off the airplane onto Vietnam dirt. Plus, another and another and another (keep going) every 3 or so months when the name of the "Campaign" changed names. The Republic of South Vietnam gave all of us two of their medals for us helping out. The said Republic doesn't exist anymore, so what do these two medals mean now? And I could go on.

I am not denigrating my or anybody else's medals. Plenty of other personnel earned some HEAVY DUTY medals of personal heroism. Mine are not heroic, but they are mine.

As for which ones are "actual" or a "copy," uh, there was no ceremony for me. The only one that was presented to me was the Vietnam service one, and not in a ceremony, just, "Hey, guy, go by the Personnel office to pick up your medal." Otherwise, they told us we were entitled to certain ribbons to wear on our uniforms when we were going on Liberty out in public.

As for being "awarded" what this means is that the first one is FREE (given by the government). It is NOT made of gold or whatever precious metal. After it gets dirty or frayed, it's up to you to BUY replacements (not "duplicates&quot . They're all not-gold or whatever. All of them are exactly the same, all of the replacements BOUGHT are the same as the first one given free by the government.

As for this fellow, Lt Col Louis DORFMAN, he's a veteran. He GAVE the thing to whomever (a.k.a. DRUMPF). It is a meaningless activity. I can say Mr DORFMAN is an idiot for his admiring DRUMPF, but it's up to him.

Now: As for WEARING it (like it's EARNED) is a totally different thing, big BIG no-no. Even at the post office, I went to buy stamps and the clerk (seeing my Navy cap) offered me Purple Heart stamps. I was SHOCKED and said, "I don't have a Purple Heart!1"


[font size=5]"Just gimme a coupla aspirin. I've already got a Purple Heart."[/font]

********QUOTE*******

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/08/03/its-legal-for-donald-trump-to-accept-a-purple-heart-how-he-handled-it-is-up-for-debate/
[font size=5]It’s [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]legal[/FONT] for Donald Trump to accept a Purple Heart. How he handled it is up for debate.[/font]

.... ... Trump drew laughs by saying he asked the veteran whether it was the “[FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]real one or a copy[/FONT],” and added that Dorfman told him it was his [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]actual[/FONT] medal. ....

Added retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey in the same MSNBC segment: “Look, a Purple Heart isn’t like an Emmy or Oscar, for God’s sakes. … There’s just been a series of babbles out of Mr. Trump that tells me he has no conception about the armed forces or what it means to serve. That certainly includes the notion of sacrifice.” ....

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-purple-heart-226565#ixzz4GKQhqTIw

Following Trump's statement, NBC reporter Katy Tur tweeted that she had spoken with (Lt Col Louis) Dorfman and that he said the medal he gave to Trump was [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"]a copy[/FONT] of the one awarded to him.


********UNQUOTE********

[font size=5]Hey, DRUMPF, a Purple Heart costs $42.95, anybody can buy one here or thousands of other websites:[/font]
http://www.medalsofamerica.com/SubCategory--Navy-Medals-and-Ribbons--m-595