The Purple Heart is specifically a combat decoration awarded in the name of the President for those who have been wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy or posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action on or after April 5, 1917.
The Purple Heart dates back to the ending days of the American Revolution when General George Washington was forbidden by the Continental Congress to grant commissions and promotions in rank in order to recognize merit. Washington especially wanted to honor the enlisted soldiers. In August, 1782 he established the Badge of Military Merit which was intended to be permanent, but was all but forgotten until the 20th century.
General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing suggested a need for an award for merit in 1918, but it was not until 1932 that the Purple Heart was created in recognition of Washington's ideals and for the bicentennial of his birth. General Order No.3 announced the establishment of the award:
"...By order of the President of the United States, the Purple Heart, established by General George Washington at Newburgh, August 7, 1782, during the War of the Revolution is hereby revived out of respect to his memory and military achievements.
By order of the Secretary of War:
Douglas MacArthur
General, Chief of Staff
Honoring and Remembering:
Lance Cpl. Niall W. Cotisears
I Got The News Today (IGTNT) , which began in April of 2004, is one of the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos and provides members of this community a venue to pay their respects to those who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The IGTNT title is a reminder that nearly every day the family of an active duty service member receives the terrible news that their beloved has died.
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Since 2001 we have lost 2022 American troops in Afghanistan and a total of 3063 American and coalition forces.
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Echo Taps
TAPS
Day is done...Gone the sun
From the lake...
From the hills...
From the sky.
All is well...Safely rest
God is nigh.
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Lance Cpl. Niall W. Cotisears, 23, of Arlington, Virginia
Lance Cpl. Niall W. Costisears died June 23rd while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif. ~ DoD News Release
Niall Coti-Sears was a talented musician. He attended Woodrow Wilson High School in the District, studied music composition for a year at a college in England then came home and joined the Marines in November, 2008.
His decision to enlist in the Marine Corps was most likely because of his grandfather, William Coti, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel who served in Korea and Vietnam. He used to tell his grandson stories about his experiences in those countries and once took him to a Vietnam veterans reunion.
It was obvious he felt proud to be part of the Corps and had great respect for the veterans of Vietnam.
He played guitar and classical piano, an instrument he excelled at, family members said
According to his grandfather, William Coti:
He never had to look at the music. He would take a piece of Bach or Chopin or Mozart and he’d change it. He’d say, ‘I like this better.’
Lance Cpl Coti-Sears' mother, Susan Coti is a fourth grade teacher at John Eaton Elementary School in Northwest D.C. She was traveling in Australia when she got the news.
The saddest thing was when I got home yesterday. When I got home, there were two beautiful, beautiful bouquets of very exotic flowers and he always had exquisite, sophisticated taste too. And there were two bouquets with beautiful notes, you know: 'Just because. You're always here for me, Mom. I love you. I'll see you soon.'
And the other one: 'I love you with all my heart.' And I don't know if he sent them because he had some kind of premonition that something might ... well, I'm sure he knew something might happen. It was very, very dangerous what he was doing.
Grandmother, Mary Coti said:
He was our beloved grandson. We practically raised him along with his mother. We’re proud and we’re devastated and we’re so angry.
Mary Coti, 80, said her grandson had always been good-hearted. After repeatedly rebuffing her attempts to get him to cut his unruly hair, Coti-Sears sent his hair to Locks of Love, the nonprofit that provides hairpieces to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
He was supposed to come home in October, his grandparents said.
Lance Cpl Niall Coti-Sears died two days after his birthday. His mother said:
He was a very, very interesting. Creative, talented, a nutball in some ways. And I'm so proud to be his mother. And that I had him for 23 years.
Lance Cpl Niall W. Coti-Sears' military awards and decorations include the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
~ Source ~ Source ~ Source
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About the IGTNT series:
"I Got the News Today" is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our US troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, noweasels, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, Kestrel9000, TheFatLadySings, Ekaterin and me, JaxDem.
These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them. Diaries about the fallen usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories.
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Any Soldier – (Marine, Sailor, Airman or CoastGuardsman) Provides detailed information on sending care packages or cards and letters to deployed service members.
Books For Soldiers - View requests for and send troops books, DVDs, games and relief supplies.
Fisher House – Provides a “home away from home” for military families to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.
Helmets to Hardhats - Connects veterans into promising careers in construction.
Homes For Our Troops – Building specially adapted homes for our severely injured veterans at no cost to the veterans.
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans – The VA estimates 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. There are ways to get involved or donate at the link.
Netroots for the Troops (NFTT) – This non-profit raises money for the assembly, mailing and delivery of care packages to American military in war zones.
Special Operations Warrior Foundation - Provides full scholarship grants and educational and family counseling to the surviving children of special operations personnel who die in operational or training missions and immediate financial assistance to severely wounded special operations personnel and their families.
USA Together - "It's like craigslist for Wounded Warriors". Brings together injured service members who need assistance as they recover, with the people who want to help them.
Veterans Green Jobs - Helps transition veterans into their communities and find career opportunities in environment sustainable sectors of our economy.
Welcome Back Veterans - Committed to providing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment to our veterans and their families in a public/private partnership
Wounded Warrior Project - Their vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded warriors in this nation's history.
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Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.