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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Wounded or killed in action

Notable recipients of the Purple Heart

Wounded or killed as a result of enemy action while serving with the U.S. armed forces.

About this decoration

400 notable recipients

Names link to Wikipedia; ★ MoH marks people who also received the Medal of Honor (links to their profile here).

NameLifeBranchWar
John F. Kennedy1917–1963United States NavyWorld War II
John McCain1936–2018United States NavyVietnam War
Kurt Vonnegut1922–2007United States ArmyWorld War II
Douglas MacArthur ★ MoH1880–1964Philippine ArmyKorean War
John Kerry1943United States NavyVietnam War
Charles Bronson1921–2003United States Air ForceWorld War II
John Ford1894–1973United States NavyWorld War II
Colin Powell1937–2021United States ArmyGulf War
George S. Patton1885–1945United States CavalryMexican Border War
Oliver Stone1946United States ArmyVietnam War
Lee Marvin1924–1987United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
James Garner1928–2014United States ArmyKorean War
Bob Dole1923–2021United States ArmyWorld War II
Chuck Yeager1923–2020United States Air ForceWorld War II
Art Carney1918–2003United States ArmyWorld War II
Robert Mueller1944–2026Vietnam War
Chris Kyle1974–2013United States Navy
Charles Durning1923–2012United States ArmyWorld War II
Desmond Doss ★ MoH1919–2006United States ArmyWorld War II
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.1934–2012United States ArmyGulf War
Audie Murphy ★ MoH1925–1971United States Army ReserveWorld War II
Alexander Haig1924–2010United States ArmyKorean War
Tammy Duckworth1968Illinois Army National GuardIraq War
Wesley Clark1944United States ArmyKosovo War
Daniel Inouye ★ MoH1924–2012442nd Infantry RegimentWorld War II
Chuck Hagel1946United States ArmyVietnam War
Strom Thurmond1902–2003United States ArmyWorld War II
Paul Tibbets1915–2007United States Army Air CorpsWorld War II
Mark W. Clark1896–1984United States ArmyWorld War I
Rod Serling1924–1975United States ArmyWorld War II
Jim Webb1946United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Samuel Fuller1912–1997United States ArmyWorld War II
James Jones1921–1977United States ArmyWorld War II
Joseph Kittinger1928–2022United States Air ForceVietnam War
Richard Winters1918–2011United States ArmyWorld War II
Don Adams1923–2005United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Maxwell D. Taylor1901–1987United States ArmyKorean War
James Arness1923–2011United States ArmyWorld War II
Sargent Shriver1915–2011United States NavyWorld War II
Lauri Törni1919–1965Waffen-SSContinuation War
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ★ MoH1887–1944United States ArmyWorld War I
Paddy Chayefsky1923–1981World War II
Hugh Thompson Jr.1943–2006United States NavyVietnam War
Alexander Vandegrift ★ MoH1887–1973United States Marine CorpsMexican Revolution
Louis Zamperini1917–2014United States Army Air ForcesWorld War II
William J. Donovan ★ MoH1883–1959United States ArmyWorld War I
Oliver North1943United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Melvin Laird1922–2016United States NavyWorld War II
William Patrick Hitler1911–1987United States NavyWorld War II
Dale Robertson1923–2013United States ArmyWorld War II
Malcolm Forbes1919–1990United States Army
Matthew Ridgway1895–1993United States ArmyKorean War
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.1915–1944United States NavyWorld War II
Jack Bauer1966–http
Ernie Pyle1900–1945World War II
H. R. McMaster1962United States ArmyGulf War
Elliot Richardson1920–1999World War II
Carlos P. Romulo1899–1985World War II
James M. Gavin1907–1990United States ArmyWorld War II
Eric Ken Shinseki1942United States ArmyVietnam War
Tommy Franks1945United States ArmyKorean War
Dan Crenshaw1984Iraq War
Sergeant Stubby1910–1926United States ArmyWorld War I
Clifton James1920–2017United States ArmyWorld War II
Russell David Johnson1924–2014World War II
Bob Kerrey ★ MoH1943United States NavyVietnam War
John Shalikashvili1936–2011United States ArmyVietnam War
James Stockdale ★ MoH1923–2005United States NavyVietnam War
Jessica Lynch1983United States Army
Charles B. Rangel1930–2025United States ArmyKorean War
Robert Ettinger1918–2011World War II
Doris Miller1919–1943United States NavyWorld War II
Neville Brand1920–1992United States ArmyWorld War II
Ron Kovic1946United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Al Matthews1942–2018United States Marine Corps
Holland Smith1882–1967United States Marine CorpsWorld War I
Robert L. Stewart1942United States ArmyVietnam War
Chesty Puller1898–1971United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Arleigh Burke1901–1996United States NavyKorean War
Steponas Darius1896–1933United States ArmyKlaipėda Revolt
Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.1886–1945United States ArmyWorld War II
Ted Knight1923–1986United States ArmyWorld War II
John N. Mitchell1913–1988United States NavyWorld War II
Robert B. Sherman1925–2012United States ArmyWorld War II
Ronald Speirs1920–2007United States ArmyKorean War
John Basilone ★ MoH1916–1945United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Tony Hillerman1925–2008United States ArmyWorld War II
James Buchli1945United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Carlos Hathcock1942–1999United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Jeremiah Denton1924–2014United States NavyVietnam War
Jack Reacher1960Military Police Corps
John Murtha1932–2010United States Marine Corps Reserve
Terry Sanford1917–1998World War II
Robert Leckie1920–2001United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Eric Greitens1974United States NavyWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
William Guarnere1923–2014United States ArmyWorld War II
Dale Dye1944United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Charles L. Veach1944–1995United States Air ForceVietnam War
James A. Van Fleet1892–1992United States ArmyKorean War
Sam Johnson1930–2020United States Air ForceKorean War
John Chafee1922–1999United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Winthrop Rockefeller1912–1973World War II
John R. Hodge1893–1963United States ArmyWorld War I
Lewis Hyde Brereton1890–1967United States ArmyWorld War I
Joyce Kilmer1886–1918United States ArmyWorld War I
Paul Douglas1892–1976United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
George Patton IV1923–2004United States ArmyVietnam War
Michael P. Murphy ★ MoH1976–2005United States NavyWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Michael Strank1919–1945United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Edward O'Hare ★ MoH1914–1943United States NavyWorld War II
Duke Cunningham1941–2025United States NavyVietnam War
Frederick W. Smith1944–2025United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Wayne Frye1930–2014
Duncan D. Hunter1976United States Marine Corps ReserveWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Salvatore Giunta ★ MoH1985United States ArmyWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Michael A. Monsoor ★ MoH1981–2006United States NavyIraq War
Bill Mauldin1921–2003United States ArmyWorld War II
Lesley J. McNair1883–1944United States ArmyWorld War I
Lynn Compton1921–2012World War II
Warren Spahn1921–2003World War II
Floyd Simmons1923–2008World War II
William Manchester1922–2004United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Art Cross1918–2005World War II
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr.1914–1988navyWorld War II
Michael Durant1961United States Army
Tim Sheehy1985United States Navy
Brian Mast1980United States Army
Bill Graham1931–1991United States ArmyKorean War
George Kenney1889–1977United States Air ForceWorld War I
Evan Mecham1924–2008World War II
Pappy Boyington ★ MoH1912–1988United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Daniel Brewster1923–2007United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Sidney Hatch1883–1966World War I
Joseph Beyrle1923–2004United States ArmyWorld War II
Michael Higgins1920–2008United States ArmyWorld War II
Lucian Truscott1895–1965United States ArmyWorld War II
Leonard Matlovich1943–1988United States Air ForceVietnam War
Warren Bennis1925–2014
Gary Gordon ★ MoH1960–1993army
Marcus Luttrell1975United States Navy
Hugh Shelton1942United States ArmyGulf War
William Hathaway1924–2013World War II
Patrick J. Hurley1883–1963United States ArmyWorld War I
Thomas Hinman Moorer1912–2004United States NavyWorld War II
Carwood Lipton1920–2001United States ArmyWorld War II
Howell Heflin1921–2005United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Paul Fussell1924–2012World War II
Arch A. Moore1923–2015World War II
Clarence R. Huebner1888–1972United States ArmyWorld War II
Elmer Gedeon1917–1944United States Army Air ForcesWorld War II
Dieter Dengler1938–2001United States NavyVietnam War
Barry Sadler1940–1989United States ArmyVietnam War
John Melcher1924–2018
Eddie Crook1929–2005United States Army
Randy Shughart ★ MoH1958–1993United States Army
Paul Cook1943United States Marine Corps
Robert Carmody1938–1967United States Army
John A. Wickham1928–2024United States ArmyKorean War
Charles Alvin Beckwith1929–1994United States ArmyKorean War
Terry de la Mesa Allen1888–1969United States ArmyWorld War II
Norman Cota1893–1971United States ArmyWorld War II
Orville Freeman1918–2003United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Lewis Nixon III1918–1995United States ArmyWorld War II
Thomas Farrell1891–1967United States ArmyWorld War II
Daniel J. Callaghan ★ MoH1890–1942United States NavyWorld War I
Sam Ervin1896–1985World War I
George Oppen1908–1984World War II
Neal Edward Smith1920–2021United States Army Air ForcesWorld War II
Philip Hart1912–1976World War II
Anthony Zinni1943United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Karl Marlantes1944United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Howard Cannon1912–2002United States Air Force
Rick Rescorla1939–2001British Army
Chris Gibson1964New York Army National Guard
Edward Almond1892–1979United States ArmyKorean War
Rudolf Anderson1927–1962United States Air ForceKorean War
Alexander Vindman1975United States ArmyIraq War
Robert Ellenstein1923–2010World War II
John William Finn ★ MoH1909–2010United States NavyWorld War II
Robert G. Cole ★ MoH1915–1944United States ArmyWorld War II
Thomas McGuire ★ MoH1920–1945United States Army Air ForcesWorld War II
Norman Scott ★ MoH1889–1942United States NavyWorld War I
Charles Marquis Warren1912–1990World War II
Gordon R. Sullivan1937–2024Cold War
William F. Garrison1944United States ArmyVietnam War
James Peake1944United States ArmyVietnam War
Melissa Stockwell1980
Hershel W. Williams ★ MoH1923–2022United States Marine Corps Reserve
Chris Beck1966
John Bradley1923–1994United States NavyWorld War II
Brett King1920–1999World War II
Jesse L. Brown1926–1950United States NavyKorean War
Clifton Bledsoe Cates1893–1970United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Pete McCloskey1927–2024United States Marine Corps ReserveKorean War
Ben Chapman1928–2008United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Kyle Carpenter ★ MoH1989United States Marine CorpsWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Richard B. Ogilvie1923–1988World War II
Donald Malarkey1921–2017United States ArmyWorld War II
David Kenyon Webster1922–1961United States ArmyWorld War II
Frank Merrill1903–1955United States ArmyWorld War II
Charles B. McVay III1898–1968United States NavyWorld War II
Forrest Sherman1896–1951United States NavyWorld War I
Dale E. Wolf1924–2021World War II
Karl Rolvaag1913–1990World War II
Lofton Russell Henderson1903–1942United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Charles Champlin1926–2014United States ArmyWorld War II
Charles Willeford1919–1988United States ArmyWorld War II
Stanley Rogers Resor1917–2012World War II
Thomas Gill1922–2009World War II
Parren Mitchell1922–2007World War II
Robert H. Michel1923–2017United States ArmyWorld War II
George H. Gay Jr.1917–1994United States NavyWorld War II
Joe Kernan1946–2020United States NavyCold War
Jesse Brown1944–2002United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Ernest W. Gibson Jr.1901–1969
William G. Boykin1948United States Army
Gustave Marinius Heiss1904–1982
Dean Fredericks1924–1999United States ArmyWorld War II
Alfred M. Gray Jr.1928–2024United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Ralph Puckett ★ MoH1926–2024United States ArmyKorean War
Tibor Rubin ★ MoH1929–2015United States ArmyKorean War
Hiroshi Miyamura ★ MoH1925–2022United States ArmyKorean War
Frank Kendall Everest Jr.1920–2004United States Air ForceKorean War
Paul Ray Smith ★ MoH1969–2003United States ArmyGulf War
Dakota Meyer ★ MoH1988United States Marine CorpsWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Jonas H. Ingram ★ MoH1886–1952United States NavyWorld War II
William Milliken1922–2019World War II
Kermit Beahan1918–1989United States Air ForceWorld War II
Edward C. Meyer1928–2020United States ArmyKorean War
Douglas McKay1893–1959World War I
Edward Heffron1923–2013United States ArmyWorld War II
Isaac C. Kidd ★ MoH1884–1941United States NavyWorld War II
C. Wade McClusky1902–1976United States NavyWorld War II
Harold J. Greene1959–2014United States ArmyWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Thomas Holcomb1879–1965United States Marine CorpsWorld War I
Thomas J. Herbert1894–1974World War I
Charles E. Potter1916–1979United States ArmyWorld War II
Eugene Roe1922–1998United States ArmyWorld War II
Hans Namuth1915–1990World War II
Frankie Yankovic1915–1998World War II
Dan Rowan1922–1987World War II
Maury Maverick1895–1954United States ArmyWorld War I
Doug Hegdahl1946United States NavyVietnam War
Roy Bourgeois1938United States Navy
Wayne Gilchrest1946United States Marine Corps
Charles Schultze1924–2016United States Army
Robert Adair1924–2020
Jim Marshall1948United States Army
Henry Johnson ★ MoH1892–1929United States ArmyWorld War I
Lewis Millett ★ MoH1920–2009United States ArmyWorld War II
Craig Reynolds1907–1949World War II
Bruce Perry Crandall ★ MoH1933–2026United States ArmyVietnam War
John William Vessey1922–2016United States ArmyKorean War
Lemuel Cornick Shepherd, Jr.1896–1990United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Mike O'Callaghan1929–2004Korean War
Robert Tessier1934–1990United States ArmyKorean War
Bob Hoover1922–2016United States Air ForceKorean War
Fox Conner1874–1951United States ArmySpanish–American War
Jason Dunham ★ MoH1981–2004United States Marine CorpsIraq War
Lori Piestewa1979–2003United States ArmyIraq War
Gregory D. Gadson1966Gulf War
Daniel T. McCarty1912–1953World War II
Maurice Rose1899–1945United States ArmyWorld War II
Raymond P. Shafer1917–2006United States NavyWorld War II
Bart Burns1918–2007United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Raymond A. Thomas1958United States ArmyGulf War
Douglas Albert Munro ★ MoH1919–1942United States Coast GuardWorld War II
John Steele1912–1969United States ArmyWorld War II
Mary Jennings Hegar1976United States Air ForceWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
James Earl Rudder1910–1970United States ArmyWorld War II
Slim Aarons1916–2006United States ArmyWorld War II
Louis H. Wilson ★ MoH1920–2005United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Colin Kelly1915–1941United States Army Air CorpsWorld War II
William Orlando Darby1911–1945United States ArmyWorld War II
Hoyt Wilhelm1922–2002World War II
Kenneth Walker ★ MoH1898–1943United States ArmyWorld War II
John D. Bulkeley ★ MoH1911–1996United States NavyWorld War II
Franklin Sousley1925–1945United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Jack Buck1924–2002United States ArmyWorld War II
Evans Carlson1896–1947United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Robert T. Frederick1907–1970United States ArmyWorld War II
Tom Harmon1919–1990World War II
Jon Burge1947–2018United States ArmyVietnam War
Jack H. Jacobs ★ MoH1945United States ArmyVietnam War
Dick Rutan1938–2024United States Air ForceVietnam War
Oliver Sipple1941–1989United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Dennis Reimer1939United States ArmyVietnam War
Pete Peterson1935United States Air ForceVietnam War
Francis W. Sargent1915–1998United States Army
Sergeant Reckless1948–1968United States Marine Corps
Durbin Feeling1946–2020
Julius Ochs Adler1892–1955United States ArmyWorld War I
Oscar Griswold1886–1959United States ArmyWorld War I
Joe Kieyoomia1919–1997United States ArmyWorld War II
Harold Schultz1925–1995United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Don Pratt1892–1944United States ArmyWorld War II
George W. Casey, Sr.1922–1970United States ArmyWorld War II
Victor H. Krulak1913–2008United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Lafayette G. Pool1919–1991United States ArmyKorean War
Bud Day ★ MoH1925–2013United States Air ForceKorean War
Charles J. Berry ★ MoH1923–1945United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Richard E. Cavazos1929–2017United States ArmyKorean War
Chuck Mawhinney1949–2024United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Wayne A. Downing1940–2007United States ArmyGulf War
Clinton Romesha ★ MoH1981United States ArmyIraq War
Frederick Kroesen1923–2020United States ArmyKorean War
David Hackworth1930–2005United States ArmyKorean War
David M. Shoup ★ MoH1904–1983United States Marine CorpsKorean War
William Francis Buckley1928–1985Korean War
Don Matheson1929–2014United States ArmyKorean War
Charles C. Krulak1942United States Marine CorpsGulf War
Scott Speicher1957–1991United States NavyGulf War
Barry McCaffrey1942United States ArmyGulf War
George Luz1921–1998United States ArmyWorld War II
Wilber M. Brucker1894–1968World War I
Andrew Goodpaster1915–2005United States ArmyWorld War II
Art Devlin1922–2004World War II
Douglas R. Stringfellow1922–1966World War II
Gillis William Long1923–1985World War II
Jeffrey L. Harrigian1962United States Air ForceIraq War
Jesse B. Oldendorf1887–1974United States NavyWorld War I
John Swainson1925–1994World War II
Vicente Lim1888–1944World War I
Dietrich von Bothmer1918–2009United States ArmyWorld War II
John Dale Ryan1915–1983United States Air ForceWorld War II
Ben Carnevale1915–2008United States NavyWorld War II
Dudley W. Morton1907–1943United States NavyWorld War II
Basil L. Plumley1920–2012United States ArmyWorld War II
Charles P. Hall1886–1953United States ArmyWorld War II
Harlon Block1924–1945United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
William C. Chase1895–1986United States ArmyWorld War I
Julian Cook1916–1990United States ArmyWorld War II
Harry Kinnard1915–2009United States ArmyWorld War II
Steven Derounian1918–2007World War II
Walter D. Ehlers ★ MoH1921–2014United States ArmyWorld War II
William E. DePuy1919–1992United States ArmyWorld War II
Robert F. Foley ★ MoH1941United States ArmyVietnam War
Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. ★ MoH1940United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Carl Epting Mundy, Jr.1935–2014United States Marine CorpsCold War
Eldon Bargewell1947–2019United States ArmyVietnam War
Hershel W. Gober1936–2024United States Marine CorpsVietnam War
Everett Alvarez, Jr.1937United States NavyVietnam War
Terry Teruo Kawamura ★ MoH1949–1969United States ArmyVietnam War
Vincent R. Capodanno ★ MoH1929–1967United States NavyVietnam War
Bruce Sundlun1920–2011United States Army Air Forces
Carlos Quirino1910–1999
Paul John Hallinan1911–1968
Douglass Watson1921–1989
Ralph Tabakin1921–2001
Percy Crosby1891–1964
Roscoe B. Woodruff1891–1975United States ArmyWorld War I
Graves B. Erskine1897–1973United States Marine CorpsWorld War I
John P. Lucas1890–1949United States ArmyWorld War I
Louis Cukela ★ MoH1888–1956United States Marine CorpsWorld War I
Harold Robert Aaron1921–1980United States ArmyWorld War II
Henry Mucci1909–1997United States ArmyWorld War II
Mitchell Paige ★ MoH1918–2003United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Nicholas Oresko ★ MoH1917–2013United States ArmyWorld War II
Paul L. Freeman Jr.1907–1988United States ArmyWorld War II
Robert M. Hanson ★ MoH1920–1944United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
John K. Singlaub1921–2022United States ArmyWorld War II
John R. Fox ★ MoH1915–1944United States ArmyWorld War II
John W. Leonard1890–1974United States ArmyWorld War II
Kenneth D. Bailey ★ MoH1910–1942United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Louis R. Lowery1916–1987United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Vernon Baker ★ MoH1919–2010Korean War
Ola L. Mize ★ MoH1931–2014Korean War
Maurice Britt ★ MoH1919–1995United States ArmyWorld War II
Robert E. Simanek ★ MoH1930–2022United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Mark Hertling1953Gulf War
Albert Blithe1923–1967United States ArmyKorean War
Randolph McCall Pate1898–1961United States Marine CorpsKorean War
William Kelly Harrison, Jr.1895–1987Korean War
Roy Benavidez ★ MoH1935–1998National Guard of the United StatesKorean War
Stanford Parris1929–2010United States Air ForceKorean War
Kenneth R. Shadrick1931–1950United States ArmyKorean War
Hector A. Cafferata, Jr. ★ MoH1929–2016United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Kurt Chew-Een Lee1926–2014United States Marine CorpsKorean War
Iván Castro1967Gulf War
Jared C. Monti ★ MoH1975–2006United States ArmyWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Matthew Axelson1976–2005United States NavyWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
John David Vanderhoof1922–2013United States NavyWorld War II
Ernest E. West ★ MoH1931–2021United States ArmyKorean War
Frank E. Petersen1932–2015United States Marine CorpsKorean War
B. Carroll Reece1889–1961World War I
John C. Waldron1900–1942United States NavyWorld War II
Darrell R. Lindsey ★ MoH1919–1944United States Army Air ForcesWorld War II
Wayne R. Grisham1923–2011World War II
James Patrick Sutton1915–2005navyWorld War II
Richard Crawford White1923–1998United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Charles W. Ryder1892–1960United States ArmyWorld War I
Paul Moore1919–2003United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Lloyd Biggle, Jr.1923–2002United States ArmyWorld War II
Orlando Ward1891–1972United States ArmyWorld War II
Theodore E. Chandler1894–1945United States NavyWorld War II
Addison Baker ★ MoH1907–1943United States ArmyWorld War II
Alexander R. Bolling1895–1964United States ArmyWorld War II
Walter Taylor1913–1997United States Marine CorpsWorld War II
Robert Eugene Bush ★ MoH1926–2005United States NavyWorld War II
William A. Eddy1896–1962United States Marine CorpsWorld War II