Are military medals issued with the name of the recipient engraved in the medal?
No. Only in rare cases are medals officially engraved with the name of the recipient. Recipients and family members are authorized to have medals engraved with the name of the recipient. 19. Does the military or government keep a list of Purple Heart recipients? No. The only military medal list budgeted by Congress is the Medal of Honor. The Marine Corps, the smallest service branch, maintains a “tape” of its Purple Heart recipients, but that is not required by Congress, nor is it required to be publicly accessible. The tapes are used for internal audit purposes. 20. Will the government replace a lost or stolen Purple Heart? No. Military medals are issued only once. If a Purple Heart was never issued, only the recipient or a direct family member (if the recipient is infirm or deceased) can apply for a first-time issue. Replacement medals can be purchased from any military medal retailer. Only medals that say “official” on the packaging meet official U.S. government specifications. 21.
