Executive Order 10409—Award of the Purle Heart to Persons Serving with the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard of the United States

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and as Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1. The Secretary of the Navy shall award the Purple Heart, in the name of the President of the United States, to any person who while serving in any capacity with the Navy, Marin Corps, or Coast Guard of the United States has been, or may hereafter be, wounded (a) in any action against an enemy of the United States, (b) in any action with an opposing armed force of a foreign country in which the armed forces of the United States are engaged, or (c) as the result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed force.

2. The Secretary of the Navy shall award the Purple Heart posthumously, in the name of the President of the United States, to any person who while serving in any capacity with the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard of the United States after April 5, 1917, has been, or may hereafter be, killed, or who has died or may hereafter die subsequent to being wounded, (a) in any action against an enemy of the United States, (b) in any action with an opposing armed force of a foreign country in which the armed forces of the United States are engaged, or (c) as the result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed force.

3. The wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer.

4. The Purple Heart shall be forwarded to the nearest of kin of any person entitled to the posthumous award, regardless of whether a previous award has been made to such person, except that if the award results from service prior to December 7, 1941, the Purple Heart shall be forwarded to such nearest of kin upon his application therefore to the Secretary of the Navy,

5. Except as authorized in paragraph 4 hereof, no more than on Purple Heart shall be awarded to any one person, but for each subsequent justification for such an award a Gold Star, or other suitable device, shall be awarded to be worn with the Purple Heart as a prescribed by appropriate regulations.

6. If so authorized by the Secretary of the Navy, the award of the Purple Heart may be made by the Commander in Chief of a fleet, or by such other appropriate officer or officers as the Secretary of the Navy may designate.

7. The Secretary of the Navy may issue such regulations as he may deem appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this order. The regulations of the Secretary of the Navy and the regulations of the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Air Force with respect to the award of the Purple Heart shall, so far as practicable, be of uniform application, and shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense.

8. This order shall supersede Executive Order No. 9277 of December 3, 1941, entitled "Award of the Purple Heart to Persons Serving with the Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard of the United States", but existing regulations issued pursuant to that order shall, so far as they are not inconsistent with this order, remain in effect until modified or revoked by regulations issued by the Secretary of the Navy pursuant to this order.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE,

November 12, 1952