Marines TV

Former Marine Sergeant John "Jack" Madden received the Purple Heart Medal on August 12th, 2020 near Boston, Massachusetts. Then LCpl Madden was shot in the arm while serving as the squad leader for India Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment during the Battle of Getlin's Corner on March 30th, 1967. Former Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps General Richard Neal served with Madden in Vietnam and was instrumental in getting him the medal he deserved.

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Zachary Jewess, a career planner, and Capt. Jack R. Lowder, an assistant operations officer, both with Wounded Warrior Battalion-East, Wounded Warrior Regiment, discuss the circumstances that led them to receiving the Purple Heart Medal on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Aug. 5, 2020. The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after April 5, 1917, has been wounded or killed. National Purple Heart Day is observed annually on Aug. 7, and is a time to honor the memory and sacrifice of those who have received the nation’s oldest military award. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Stephanie Corona-Morales)

Change of Command video message for Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 364, Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Calif., May 5th, 2020. (US Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Victor Mackson)

Sgt. Ronald Spotswood, a combat graphic specialist with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, and Cpl. Josue Marquez, a combat photographer with 3rd Marine Division, speak about what their units did during the Vietnam War, Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan, March 25, 2020. Vietnam Veterans Day recognizes veterans who served in the US military during the Vietnam War. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Hannah Hall)

Feb. 22, 2020, marks 88 years since Gen. Douglas MacArthur reinstated the Purple Heart, the oldest military decoration still awarded today. The Badge of Military Merit, as it was called, fell into oblivion until 1932, when MacArthur, then Army Chief of Staff, pressed for its revival. At first an Army award, given to those who had been wounded in World War I or who possessed a Meritorious Service Citation Certificate, the order was amended to include personnel of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Coverage was eventually extended to include all services and "any civilian national" wounded while serving with the Armed Forces. For a descriptive transcript text document of this production, contact Kim Hardison at Kimberly.hardison@usmc.mil.