§1129. Purple Heart: members killed or wounded in action by friendly fire

(a) For purposes of the award of the Purple Heart, the Secretary concerned shall treat a member of the armed forces described in subsection (b) in the same manner as a member who is killed or wounded in action as the result of an act of an enemy of the United States.

(b) A member described in this subsection is a member who is killed or wounded in action by weapon fire while directly engaged in armed conflict, other than as the result of an act of an enemy of the United States, unless (in the case of a wound) the wound is the result of willful misconduct of the member.

(c) This section applies to members of the armed forces who are killed or wounded on or after December 7, 1941. In the case of a member killed or wounded as described in subsection (b) on or after December 7, 1941, and before November 30, 1993, the Secretary concerned shall award the Purple Heart under subsection (a) in each case which is known to the Secretary before such date or for which an application is made to the Secretary in such manner as the Secretary requires.

(Added Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title XI, §1141(a), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1756 ; amended Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title X, §1073(a)(18), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1901 .)

Amendments

1997-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–85 substituted "November 30, 1993," for "the date of the enactment of this section," and "before such date or" for "before the date of the enactment of this section or".

Award of Purple Heart to Persons Wounded While Held as Prisoners of War Before April 25, 1962

Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title V, §521, Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 309 , as amended by Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title V, §544, Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1478 , provided that:

"(a) Award of Purple Heart.-For purposes of the award of the Purple Heart, the Secretary concerned (as defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code) shall treat a former prisoner of war who was wounded before April 25, 1962, while held as a prisoner of war (or while being taken captive) in the same manner as a former prisoner of war who is wounded on or after that date while held as a prisoner of war (or while being taken captive).

"(b) Standards for Award.-An award of the Purple Heart under subsection (a) shall be made in accordance with the standards in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Feb. 10, 1996] for the award of the Purple Heart to persons wounded on or after April 25, 1962.

"(c) Eligible Former Prisoners of War.-A person shall be considered to be a former prisoner of war for purposes of this section if the person is eligible for the prisoner-of-war medal under section 1128 of title 10, United States Code.

"(d) Procedures for Award.-In determining whether a former prisoner of war who submits an application for the award of the Purple Heart under subsection (a) is eligible for that award, the Secretary concerned shall apply the following procedures:

"(1) Failure of the applicant to provide any documentation as required by the Secretary shall not in itself disqualify the application from being considered.

"(2) In evaluating the application, the Secretary shall consider (A) historical information as to the prison camp or other circumstances in which the applicant was held captive, and (B) the length of time that the applicant was held captive.

"(3) To the extent that information is readily available, the Secretary shall assist the applicant in obtaining information or identifying the sources of information referred to in paragraph (2).

"(4) The Secretary shall review a completed application under this section based upon the totality of the information presented, taking into account the length of time between the period during which the applicant was held as a prisoner of war and the date of the application."