Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73not60
§1131 Purple Heart: Limitation to Members of the Armed Forces
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— General Military Law › Part II— PERSONNEL › Chapter 57— DECORATIONS AND AWARDS › § 1131
Summary
Only members of the armed forces can receive the Purple Heart when they are wounded or killed under qualifying conditions.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §1131
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The decoration known as the Purple Heart (authorized to be awarded pursuant to Executive Order 11016) may only be awarded to a person who is a member of the armed forces at the time the person is killed or wounded under circumstances otherwise qualifying that person for award of the Purple Heart.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Executive Order 11016, referred to in text, is Ex. Ord. No. 11016, Apr. 25, 1962, 27 F.R. 4139, which is set out as a note under section 1129 of this title.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title V, § 571(b), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1756, provided that: “Section 1131 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to persons who are killed or wounded after the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 18, 1997].”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 1131
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60