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Operation Downfall
Mar. 28th, 2011 11:25 am
Every so often, while I am doing Random Wiki, I come across some fact or other that makes the news or history real for me. It's usually something chilling. I ran into one of those today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall
The item that chilled me in that article, that made it real, is this: In anticipation for the invasion of Japan, the United States made up a batch of Purple Heart medals. (For those who don't know, the Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration in the United States. It was initiated by George Washington himself, and goes to any service person wounded in battle.)
The invasion never came off, of course, and they had all these medals sitting around.
They still do. Every purple heart medal issued since 1945 is one of the ones that were made in preparation for Operation Downfall.
They STILL have tens of thousands left.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall
The item that chilled me in that article, that made it real, is this: In anticipation for the invasion of Japan, the United States made up a batch of Purple Heart medals. (For those who don't know, the Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration in the United States. It was initiated by George Washington himself, and goes to any service person wounded in battle.)
The invasion never came off, of course, and they had all these medals sitting around.
They still do. Every purple heart medal issued since 1945 is one of the ones that were made in preparation for Operation Downfall.
They STILL have tens of thousands left.
