I know that....Mike should have put in for one when his area was bombed in 04..he was injured but didn't report it as he thought his injuries were insignificant...compared to others.
@mystery-ak In general,you would have been laughed out of the unit if you had put yourself in for a Purple Heart unless it was a solid hit. If it scabbed over or quit bleeding before you got out of the bush,it wasn't really considered to be a wound. I have scars still on my arms and hands from shrapnel wounds from B-40 rockets and never even considered putting myself in for a PH for them. Or even bother to point them out to anyone. Truth to tell,I didn't even notice them until after all the shooting stopped.
Bob Howard even quit accepting them unless he was wounded badly enough to be hospitalized. Then again,he already had 6 or more of them by the time he ended his first 18 months in VN,so a PH was no big deal to him.
Also,I have a confession to make. I am speaking and seeing things from the POV of enlisted swine because we live under different,and sometimes better,sets of rules than officers. ANY combat arms officer that doesn't have a CIB and a PH that served during a time of conflict is never going to get promoted to field grade rank,never mind gain any stars,and this is true regardless of how smart he is,or how hard he works UNLESS he has political connections. Right and wrong never even enter into it. It's just the way it is and has always been.
Because of this I tend to be MUCH less critical of a career combat arms officer that gets a "easy" CIB and/or PH. This does NOT include people like Vindman,who is actually an intel puke,not an actual infantry officer.
BTW,I happen to consider being a career Infantry Officer amongst the finest things a man CAN be,even though I turned down the chance to be an officer myself. The dirty little truth is NCO's have a LOT more fun. Especially senior NCO's.
