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By Karin Hill

JONESBORO — Paul Calkin was just 20 when the B-17 he was flying in over Europe was damaged by German anti-aircraft fire. Three of the plane’s engines were damaged by the time he and his crew made it to the English Channel, where they were forced to land in the water.

The shrapnel wounds to Calkin’s arm qualified him for a Purple Heart, but he never pursued the medal.

“I really didn’t think about it at the time,” he said.

Decades later a service officer with the Veterans Administration in Little Rock realized that Calkin was missing out on the recognition and worked to obtain it for him.

In 2000 Calkin finally got his Purple Heart — 55 years after that memorable mission.

Today, at 85, Calkin is a member of the new Jonesboro chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, which received its charter just one week ago.

Now he and the 18 other members are working to recruit other Purple Heart recipients into the organization, and they’re hoping to attract many of the younger soldiers and veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We have several younger Iraq vets; a couple of them have been there two or three times,” he said.

The group also has four World War II veterans and several veterans from the Korean and Vietnam wars.

“What sets the Military Order of the Purple Heart apart from the VFW or American Legion is all of its members have been wounded in combat,” noted Kurt Holloway, the chapter’s commander.

He added that it was President George Washington who designed the original Purple Heart during the Revolutionary War as the first medal ever given to American enlisted men. It was called the Badge of Merit, and its use was discontinued after that war.

It was not until Oct. 27, 1927, that Army Chief of Staff Gen. Charles P. Summerall directed a draft bill be sent to Congress “to revive the Badge of Military Merit.” The Army withdrew the bill on Jan. 3, 1928, but the Office of the Adjutant General filed all correspondence for possible future use.

Although a number of private efforts were made to have the medal reinstated, it wasn’t until Jan. 7, 1931, that Summerall’s successor, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, confidentially reopened the case. His objective was to have a new medal issued on the bicentennial of Washington’s birth.

Shortly after the award was reinstated in 1931, a group of combat veterans in Ansonia, Conn., formed the first chapter of the civilian organization whose membership was composed of recipients of the decoration. Their action gave birth to a fraternal body that, until then, had been but a record on paper.

The living organization grew rapidly during and after World War II and is now a nationwide body. It was chartered by Congress on Aug. 26, 1958.

The MOPH maintains its national headquarters in Springfield, Va. It represents veterans’ interests before Congress, the VA, the Department of Defense and elsewhere.

The mission of the order “is to foster an environment of goodwill and camaraderie among combat wounded veterans, promote patriotism, support necessary legislative initiatives and, most importantly, provide service to all veterans and their families.”

The Jonesboro chapter is working to obtain a granite monument with the words “All gave some, and some gave all” that will be placed on the Craighead County Courthouse lawn.

Calkin worked the last four years to establish a chapter for the Jonesboro area. There are 10 chapters in the state.

State officers E.S. “Vess” Lawbaugh, state commander, and Jim Buckner, senior vice commander, traveled from Fayetteville to present the chapter with its charter last week. The members elected their first officers for the new chapter, including Holloway as commander and Jerry Crump as junior vice commander.

Meetings are scheduled the second Monday of each month at the VFW Hall but are subject to change. Any recipients of the Purple Heart are invited to attend. For more information call Calkin at 935-8566 or Holloway at 316-4508.

khill@jonesborosun.com