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FAMOUS PURPLE HEART RECIPIENTS


Blog Post 5 of 11


 You may not recognize a hero that sits among you, or realize the deeds of some well-known Americans.  This blog post will highlight but a few Purple Heart recipients who went on to make their mark in our society.
Charles Bronson received his Purple Heart for injuries sustained during WWII.   Bronson was known for his acting parts in two famous WWII movies, The Dirty Dozen and the Great Escape, among many other award winning movies.
James Garner entered the armed forces at the age of 16 and was awarded two Purple Hearts for injuries sustained during two different battles in WWII.  Garner starred in many movies but is most known for his television series, the Rockford Files.
James Arness is well known as Marshall Matt Dillion in the TV series Gunsmoke which aired for more than 50 years.  Arness received not only the Purple Heart, but the Bronze Star as well for injuries sustained in the infamous WWI invasion of Anzio, Italy. 
American writer Kurt Vonnegut wrote his novel Slaughterhouse Five based upon his wartime experiences during WWII.  He became a Prisoner of War (POW) after the Battle of the Bulge engagement and received his Purple Heart for these actions.
Another American Novelist and Purple Heart recipient, James Jones also used his WWII experiences for his novels, From Here to Eternity, and The Thin Red Line.  Both of these novels were made into box office sensations. 
Rod Sterling, who created and hosted the iconic, The Twilight Zone - a cult classic cast in the 1960’s which was a groundbreaking anthology series, based his television series on his experiences during WWII.  He  not only eagerly joined the Army at the young age of 16, but was also assigned to one of the most dangerous platoons - the 11th Airborne Division.  He was considered lucky to come out of the war alive and was awarded the Purple Heart for his heroic actions.  Aside from the wounds he received during his perilous missions, he witnessed many horrors of the war which would plague him with headaches, nightmares and flashbacks for the rest of his life.

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