9 Famous Figures Who Have Been Awarded Purple Hearts

Most of you already know that Purple Hearts are medals awarded to soldiers who have been injured by the enemy while serving in the U.S. military (or posthumously to those killed in combat). But you might not know that there are certain famous figures—like actor Charles Bronson and writer Kurt Vonnegut—who have received the medal, which was created by General George Washington on August 7, 1782.

Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson made a name for himself in classic war flicks like The Dirty Dozen (1967), but the venerated action star wasn’t always playing pretend when he suited up in military garb. The Pennsylvania native enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943 when he was in his early 20s.

Joining the war effort gave Bronson, the son of a coal miner, the chance to escape that profession. He had worked in coal mines as a teenager, at the height of the Great Depression, but it wasn’t the career that the aspiring thespian and certified tough guy actually wanted for himself.

While based in Guam, Bronson served as a gunner in a B-29 bomber and participated in 25 combat missions. He was injured in one of these missions and earned a Purple Heart. After being discharged in 1946, Bronson got a job painting scenic drops for a Philadelphia theatre company, before making his film acting debut in 1951 in the aptly themed You’re in the Navy Now.

James Arness

Gunsmoke star James Arness didn’t exactly get what he wanted when he was drafted into the Army in 1943. The future TV actor aimed to be a fighter pilot, but with his height of 6 feet, 7 inches, he was too tall to safely fit into a plane's cockpit (would-be fighter pilots couldn’t be taller than 6 feet, 2 inches at the time).

Arness went on to serve as a rifleman, but his tenure with the Army would be short-lived: He was wounded in 1944 during the Battle of Anzio in Italy, taking hits from a machine gun to his knee and lower leg. Arness survived and was transported to Iowa, where he spent 18 months in recovery at a military hospital, though he dealt with chronic pain related to his injuries for the remainder of his life. He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his bravery in combat. Later, he used the GI Bill to attend Beloit College in Wisconsin, initially focusing on radio work before deciding to hitchhike to Hollywood.

James Garner

Those familiar with The Rockford Files or Maverick certainly know who James Garner is. What you might not know is how much time he dedicated to the Armed Forces. When he was just 16 years old, Garner joined the Merchant Marines near the end of WWII, though he didn’t do particularly well there given that he suffered from seasickness. He later served in the National Guard for seven months before joining the Army and serving in the 24th Infantry for 14 months during the Korean War.

While in the Army, James was injured twice. The first time he was hit in the hand and face by shrapnel from a mortar round. The second time he was shot in the buttocks by U.S. fighter jets as he dove into a foxhole. As a result, he received two Purple Hearts, although he didn’t receive the second one until 32 years later.

James Jones

While the movie version of The Thin Red Line was largely overshadowed by Saving Private Ryan, it did have the distinction of being based on a book written by someone who served in WWII. In fact, James Jones’s so-called “war trilogy” of From Here to Eternity, The Thin Red Line, and Guadalcanal and Whistle blend the author’s real war experiences with fiction so effectively that no one really knows which events are factual and which were created for the novels.

What we do know for certain though is that Jones enlisted in the Army in 1939, served in the 25th Infantry, and was wounded on Guadalcanal, earning him a Purple Heart.

Kurt Vonnegut

Most fans of Kurt Vonnegut already know that he fought in WWII and was taken prisoner after the Battle of the Bulge. (It was the inspiration for his famous novel Slaughterhouse Five.) He was one of a handful of survivors from the American bombing of Dresden in February of 1945, and he earned a Purple Heart for his service. While you might assume that his injuries would have been obtained during the Dresden bombing, you’d be wrong. As it turns out, he said he earned the medal for a “ludicrously negligible wound” related to frostbite.

Ron Kovic

If you’ve seen the movie or read Born on the Fourth of July, then you’re already familiar with the story of Ronald Lawrence Kovic. After all, the book was his autobiography. Kovic joined the Marines after being stirred by John F. Kennedy’s famous, “Ask not what your country can do for you” speech.

He was sent on his first tour of duty in 1965 and returned for a second tour in 1967. It was during this second tour that he was injured while leading his squad through an open area of land. Kovic was first shot in the right foot and then through the right shoulder, which left him paralyzed from the chest down. He received a Bronze Star with V Device for valor and a Purple Heart for his service.

After returning home, he became a peace activist and has since been arrested 12 times for his protests. In 1974, he told his story in Born on the Fourth of July. When Oliver Stone commissioned the story to become a movie, Kovic wrote the screenplay. He received a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay exactly 22 years after the date he was injured in the war.

Oliver Stone

Yes, the famous director not only made a film about someone with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for service in Vietnam; he has both medals from his time in the war as well. Like Kovic, he willingly signed up for the Armed Forces, dropping out of Yale to do so, and even requested combat duty in Vietnam.

Stone was injured twice in the war and received the Purple Heart after he was shot in the neck. As you might have guessed, Platoon was based largely on the director’s experiences in Vietnam.

Rod Serling

Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling was lucky enough not to be killed in combat during World War II, but he hardly came out unscathed. He was injured a few times while serving in the Philippines, but more dramatic was the severe trauma he experienced by serving in such a violent area. As a result, he was plagued by nightmares and flashbacks for the rest of his life. The events he experienced reshaped his world view, and with them he was inspired to create The Twilight Zone and write many of the show’s most famous episodes.

Sergeant Stubby

One more veteran with a Purple Heart who is certainly noteworthy, even if he's not a human, is Sergeant Stubby, our favorite K9 war hero and the most decorated dog of WWI. Stubby received his Purple Heart for an injury caused by shrapnel from a German grenade thrown into the trench he was in. After recovering, he returned to the trenches to help his fellow soldiers.

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A version of this article originally ran in 2012 and has been updated for 2024.