Purple Heart

[Hemdian]

Quick opinions sought (especially from military types).

I’m trying to figure out the back-story of an Imperial Navy character I have generated. She’s an engineer who received a Purple Heart during Shore Duty (on Jewell in 1116). Purple Hearts are supposed to be for injuries received in combat. What I have is:

A Vargr pirate in custody at the naval base attempts to escape. During that attempt he enters an engineering workshop where said character happened to be working. Vargr pirate is unarmed but physically strong, character is modest build and happens to be holding a wrench. They fight and the pirate is subdued, but not before the character receives a broken leg.

Would this qualify for a Purple Heart?

 

[Whipsnade]

Hemdian,

"Shore duty" doesn't necessarily equate "No Combat". For example: The WW2 Seabees building airstrips on Saipan were on shore duty and they still had to deal with Japanese hold-outs.

GT:Ground Forces has several of examples of Imperial intervention and "peace making" in the Marches. Your character could be part of an IN unit assigned to one of these Unified Army operations, perhaps a "boat" or "landing craft" flotilla ferrying UA assets in and out of orbit or between various points on the world in question. As an engineer she'd either serve aboard those small craft, repair them, or both.

Have one of the UA's landing zones briefly turn "hot", think rocket and mortar attacks on the Green Zone. Your IN engineer picks up a piece of shrapnel before she can reach a slit trench and - Bingo! - a Purple Heart.

I would think in order to earn a Purple Heat she needs to be wounded under fire and not just break her leg while crowning an escaping Vargr with a wrench.


Regards,
Bill

 

[Major B]

I would think in order to earn a Purple Heat she needs to be wounded under fire and not just break her leg while crowning an escaping Vargr with a wrench.

Hemdian, agree with Bill here.

IMTU I've envisioned the Marines as being purposely structured with very minimal support and service specialists, in order to maximize the relative amount of combat capability their budget can produce (more tooth, less tail). The Marines rely on Navy support personnel for most of their technical specialists - medics (corpsmen), forward observers for ortillery / attack craft, and maintenance / logistics specialists.

I'd have your engineer assigned to a future equivalent of a FARP (Forward Arming and Refueling Point) where attack craft are able to get service from a surface point rather then returning to the orbiting ships. Then, like Bill outlined, the base is attacked (either a direct attack or indirect fire) and your engineer is wounded in the action.

 

[Bob Weaver]

Quick opinions sought (especially from military types).

I’m trying to figure out the back-story of an Imperial Navy character I have generated. She’s an engineer who received a Purple Heart during Shore Duty (on Jewell in 1116). Purple Hearts are supposed to be for injuries received in combat. What I have is:



Would this qualify for a Purple Heart?

Sir,

Without a doubt, your officer deserves a commendation for her actions. I think that the Soldier's Medal would be the right award for the action you described. Of course, Traveller doesn't have such an award, but you can always make one up. At the risk of characterizing it as a catch-all, the SM awards acts of heroism outside of the combat zone.

The description for the Soldier's medal is as follows (with some editing on non-essential verbiage):

"The Soldier's Medal is awarded to any person of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving in any capacity with the Army of the United States, distinguished himself or herself by heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy. The performance must have involved personal hazard or danger and the voluntary risk of life under conditions not involving conflict with an armed enemy."

Perhaps a house-rule that the Decoration in non-combat missions is the Soldier's Medal (or your name for it) instead?

Cheers,

Bob W.

 

[Easterner9504]

Purple Heart Do's & Don'ts

Enemy-related injuries which justify the award of the Purple Heart include injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action; injury caused by enemy placed land mine, naval mine, or trap; injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent; injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire; concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions.

Injuries or wounds which do not qualify for award of the Purple Heart include frostbite or trench foot injuries; heat stroke; food poisoning not caused by enemy agents; chemical, biological, or nuclear agents not released by the enemy; battle fatigue; disease not directly caused by enemy agents; accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action; self-inflicted wounds (e.g., a soldier accidentally fires their own gun and the bullet strikes their leg), except when in the heat of battle, and not involving gross negligence; post-traumatic stress disorders; and jump injuries not caused by enemy action.

 

[Ranger]

Just a couple of stories to spice up the options.

I new a guy who's father got a Purple Heart in the 1930s in Hawaii. Apparently, there were still active Hawaiian separatists back then, and one of them threw a grenade at this guy while he was manning a guard post. He caught some shrapnel.

Second story. I knew a guy who got a Purple Heart for being in the La Belle Disco in West Berlin when it was bombed by the Libyans. Apparently it was a popular hangout for Berlin Brigade soldiers back then, and every soldier in the club at the time the bomb when off and got any medical treatment was awarded a Purple Heart.

BTW, does it really make sense to call these Purple Hearts in Traveller. Shouldn't it just be a Wound Badge or some such?

 

[aramis]

The original PH was issued for any wound in combat, includeing a couple who roke their bones while pursuing the enemy. In WW I, the litigiousness of american society forced a redefinition to injuries caused by enemy action.

 

[flykiller]

imtu marines usually operate in populated, high-tech built-up industrial zones or aboard ships. navy techs, like medics, are part of a regular marine formation. two teams each consisting of a computer specialist, an electronics tech, a mechanic, and a damage control specialist are assigned at the company level. frequently they are right behind the lead elements of any assault, cutting hatches open, hacking security systems, restoring life support to trapped civilians, controlling fires, or doing something as simple as getting the lights back on.

 

[Major B]

imtu marines usually operate in populated, high-tech built-up industrial zones or aboard ships. navy techs, like medics, are part of a regular marine formation. two teams each consisting of a computer specialist, an electronics tech, a mechanic, and a damage control specialist are assigned at the company level. frequently they are right behind the lead elements of any assault, cutting hatches open, hacking security systems, restoring life support to trapped civilians, controlling fires, or doing something as simple as getting the lights back on.

This made me think of another idea - since "shore" duty doesn't have to mean "surface" duty...

Your engineer could have been assigned to an IN liaison element in the highport. The station was attacked by (pick your villain - Ine Givar, Pirates, etc). The power systems in a section of the highport were disabled, trapping numerous civilians, while the bad guys demanded ransom and free passage in exchange for allowing access to the plant. The Marines are sent in instead, and they grab the only engineer available to go with. She is wounded in the action, but still manages to restore power. Now the local press has singled her out as a hero, and she has generated an enemy in her backstory that can be used as a plot hook later.

 

[Hemdian]

Thanks, everyone. This has helped a lot. Bob W’s suggestion fits best with what I wanted, but the other ideas from Bill and Major B sound too good to throw away so I’ll file them for another time.

I’m going to have to overhaul my houserules on character generation. One of the things that doesn’t make sense to me at the moment is that assignments and their risks (and chance of decoration) remain unchanged during peacetime and war. Along with that I’m going to expand out the range of medals. (And yes, Ranger, “Purple Heart” does sound too US-centric and/or contemporary.)

 

[Easterner9504]

Peace does not mean the absence of war.

30 years of MoH without a war

http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/indianwars.html

 

[Hemdian]

True, true. But I think for Imperial Navy personnel in the Spinward Marches, for example, there would be a higher incidence of battles, sieges, and whathaveyou, for the years 1107 to 1112 than at other times. And even patrol assignments would be more hazardous during those years.

 

[Easterner9504]

Battle Frequency

For purple Hearts this would be true.

 

[BlackBat242]

Actually, the Purple Heart was originally created in the Revolutionary War (Rebellion of the Colonies in America against British rule) as an award for valor (no wound required).

It was, for quite a while, the only award for valor the US gave.

 

[Commander Truestar]

Well,

I can help, though not from my experience as my circumstances were diferent. My wife's late uncle had an experience that could help, if only a bit colorful too. He was an infantryman in WWII. His unit was in Paris shortly after the liberation and he drew a stand as a guard on some buildings. Before the liberation, the allies were dropping one shot handguns for the French to use. "You pick it up and shoot a German trooper and take his gun" was the idea.
Anyway, this French kid sees a guy in uniform. From the description we got, the kid was pretty young and did not know from American or German. All he know was "not French". So he sneaks into a position, takes aim, which with those things was near miraculous, and pops off the round.

So our late uncle got his Purple Heart, a stay in hospital(on his stomach) back in England, and a nice set of scars on one of his two rear cheeks...

It was not a line post but it was in a Combat Zone.

Loosen things up a bit as this is not The US. Say "Combat Wounded in Service" equals qualification and then say that she had drawn shore duty when..

lets see..

A 5kton frieghter comes into the scout base piloted by a military crew after having had to take out the Civie "command crew" after catching them smuggling. So the ship is down and needs to be tech-ed out even though there could be holdouts in the holds. Your engineer is ordered in with a Marine or two in support as other teams go in to do the needed work as well as fireteams being sent in to secure the ship 100%

Just her luck a smuggler engineer knew where to hide with his/her/its holdout pistol until just the moment she and her "support" come into the enginering section. He panics and fires. She screams and drops. Now that she is out of the line of fire, they grease the smuggler...and a few readout displays and control panels.

Sound good enough for shore duty?

Marc