Introduced Version
SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION No. _____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED RESOLUTION
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION honoring the Purple Heart
recipients of the Town of Paoli.
KOCH
, read first time and referred to Committee on
2024 RC 1501/DI SM Introduced
Second Regular Session 123rd General Assembly (2024)
SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION No. _____
1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION honoring the Purple
2 Heart recipients of the Town of Paoli.
3 Whereas, On August 7, 1782, General George Washington
4 established the Badge of Military Merit for noncommissioned
5 officers and privates in the Continental Army who exhibited not
6 only instances of unusual gallantry in battle, but also
7 extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way;
8 Whereas, The Badge of Merit was awarded to three
9 sergeants during and shortly following the Revolutionary War
10 before falling into disuse until World War I;
11 Whereas, In October of 1927, Army Chief of Staff General
12 Charles Pelot Summerall directed a draft bill be sent to
13 Congress to revive the Badge of Military Merit, which was later
14 tabled until January 7, 1931, when General Douglas
15 MacArthur and the Washington Commission of Fine Arts began
16 redesigning and renaming the Badge;
17 Whereas, On February 22, 1932, the 200th Anniversary of
18 George Washington's birth, President Herbert Hoover officially
19 revived the award, renamed the Purple Heart, to be awarded
20 for meritorious or valorous service in the United States Army;
21 Whereas, The Purple Heart allowed additional
22 authorizations to servicemembers who received wounds that
23 need treatment by a medical officer and received either in
24 action with an enemy of the United States or as a result of an
25 act of such enemy that may be construed as resulting from a
2024 RC 1501/DI SM 2
1 singularly meritorious act of essential service;
2 Whereas, Prior to the United States' entry into World War
3 II, nearly 78,000 Purple Hearts were retroactively issued to
4 Army personnel who had been wounded as far back as the Civil
5 War or had performed meritorious service during World War
6 I;
7 Whereas, In 1942, the War Department amended the
8 citation for the Purple Heart, removing the meritorious service
9 element, allowing servicemembers killed in action to receive the
10 award, and authorizing the Navy Department to award the
11 Purple Heart to any Navy, Marine, or Coast Guard personnel
12 who were wounded or killed in action beginning on December
13 7, 1941;
14 Whereas, To date, it is estimated that more than 1.9 million
15 servicemembers have been awarded the Purple Heart, with
16 over 1 million of the recipients being awarded during World
17 War II; and
18 Whereas, In recognition of the selfless service and sacrifice
19 of servicemembers who have received a Purple Heart, on April
20 19, 2022, the Town of Paoli, Indiana, became the first town in
21 the State of Indiana to designate Purple Heart recipients and
22 their families "Purple Star Families" and proclaim the town a
23 "Purple Star Family Town": Therefore,
24 Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly
25 of the State of Indiana, the House of Representatives
26 concurring:
27 SECTION 1. The Indiana General Assembly honors the
28 Purple Heart recipients of the Town of Paoli in furtherance of
29 liberty and freedom and thanks their family members for their
30 support and dedication.
31 SECTION 2. The Secretary of the Senate is hereby directed
32 to transmit copies of this Resolution to the Town Council of the
33 Town of Paoli.
2024 RC 1501/DI SM