{"id":419,"date":"2009-01-21T10:41:55","date_gmt":"2009-01-21T15:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emotionalhealth.us\/blog\/?p=419"},"modified":"2026-08-11T23:33:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T03:33:13","slug":"the-purple-heart-and-ptsd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emotionalhealth.us\/blog\/the-purple-heart-and-ptsd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Purple Heart and PTSD"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the News and Opinions section of its January 23 issue, The Week magazine<\/a><\/span> reports that the Pentagon has decided soldiers afflicted with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are not eligible for a Purple Heart because, the Pentagon claims, “psychic wounds are hard to diagnose.”<\/p>\n

A study by the Rand Corporation<\/span> estimates 300,000 U.S. troops have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan wounded with symptoms of PTSD, including nightmares and depression. The Pentagon’s position is that “giving out Purple Hearts to hundreds of thousands would cheapen the honor.”<\/p>\n

On January 11, 2009, Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun wrote the Pentagon’s position “is not about preserving the prestige of the Purple Heart.”\u00a0 Instead, he believes the Bush administration wanted to hide the real costs of an unpopular war and was unwilling to admit that U.S. casualties in the Middle East number hundreds of thousands.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, troops who suffer from emotional wounds suffer no less than those who suffer from physical wounds.\u00a0 PTSD can have devastating consequences.\u00a0 However, contrary to what the Pentagon claims, PTSD can often be diagnosed.\u00a0 If PTSD is found to be a direct cause of military service, afflicted personnel deserve to be recognized for their sacrifice.<\/p>\n

– Frank Mannarino of emoshuns.com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the News and Opinions section of its January 23 issue, The Week magazine reports that the Pentagon has decided soldiers afflicted with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are not eligible for a Purple Heart because, the Pentagon claims, “psychic wounds are hard to diagnose.” A study by the Rand Corporation estimates 300,000 U.S. troops have\u2026 Read More: The Purple Heart and PTSD »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[42,78],"class_list":["post-419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-military","tag-ptsd"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t