The Purple Heart Medal is awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration.

 

The organization now known as the “Military Order of the Purple Heart, (MOPH) “was formed in 1932 for the protection and mutual interest of all who have received the decoration. Composed exclusively of Purple Heart recipients, it is the only veterans service organization comprised strictly of “combat” veterans.  This means we are a very small organization.  To put things into perspective there have only been approximately 2 million Purple Hearts awarded since it creation in 1782.  This is one of few military decorations which must be signed off on by the President of the United States.

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Our Local Chapter, Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 598 (Corpus Christi Tx) was founded in 1992 and named Alaniz-Valentine.  The Chapter was named after Andy Alaniz and Roger Valentine who were killed during the Gulf War in 1991.​

 

Although Congressionally Recognized nationally, each sub chapter must completely sustain itself.

 

Our Chapter likes to stay involved in the community in the Following ways:

 

The Military Order of the Purple Heart’s Youth Programs are focused on fostering patriotism and good citizenship among America’s youth. We recognize outstanding leadership in cadets and midshipmen through the Senior and Junior ROTC Programs in the United States and Department of Defense Dependent Schools worldwide. In addition, we recognize outstanding leadership in non-ROTC/JROTC Youth Programs with the Badge of Merit 1782 Award, available to members of the Young Marines, Civil Air Patrol, Naval Sea Cadets, Boys and Girls Scouts and Pre-JROTC Mid-School Programs.

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Chapter 598 services 11 High School's in the Coastal Bend as well as Texas A&M Corpus Christi.  Over the Years we have given scholarships and leadership awards to students chosen by their command and peers.

 

We have hosted a myriad of a veteran events to include by not limited to Veteran stand downs which bring social services, haircuts, food, supplies, and resources to homeless veterans.

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Purple Heart Parking Program:  We are actively seeking businesses to become Purple Heart Entities.  In becoming a Purple Heart Entity, we donate Purple Heart Parking signs for their business to place in there parking lot.  It’s a great way to honor Purple Heart Recipients in our community.

 

Forging Resilience Program: Using steel heated to over 2,000 degrees, the mission of this program is to be proactive in the mental healing of our warriors by blacksmith/forging their own knifes as a form of therapy.  The goal is to foster an environment in which our warriors can build camaraderie, through shared experience, with fellow warriors, while simultaneously forging a resilience to their trauma.