The Purple Heart is given to U.S. military personnel wounded or killed while serving in the Armed Forces.
The Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for military service, is bestowed on members who distinguish themselves by bravery in combat.
The POW Medal is awarded to those taken prisoner and held captive while involved in action against an enemy of the United States.
Living Purple Heart, Medal of Honor, or POW Medal Recipients in North Carolina
| County | Purple Heart or Medal of Honor or POW Recipients |
|---|---|
| Alamance | 52 |
| Alexander | 12 |
| Ashe | 16 |
| Avery | 12 |
| Beaufort | 23 |
| Bladen | 13 |
| Brunswick | 114 |
| Buncombe | 76 |
| Burke | 35 |
| Cabarrus | 49 |
| Caldwell | 30 |
| Carteret | 80 |
| Catawba | 47 |
| Chatham | 19 |
| Cherokee | 24 |
| Cleveland | 31 |
| Columbus | 21 |
| Craven | 74 |
| Cumberland | 574 |
| Dare | 18 |
| Davidson | 42 |
| Davie | 16 |
| Duplin | 24 |
| Durham | 69 |
| Edgecombe | 19 |
| Forsyth | 103 |
| Franklin | 20 |
| Gaston | 60 |
| Granville | 19 |
| Guilford | 120 |
| Halifax | 17 |
| Harnett | 106 |
| Haywood | 30 |
| Henderson | 48 |
| Hertford | 10 |
| Hoke | 65 |
| Iredell | 42 |
| Jackson | 16 |
| Johnston | 58 |
| Lee | 36 |
| Lenoir | 27 |
| Lincoln | 21 |
| Macon | 25 |
| Madison | 10 |
| McDowell | 23 |
| Mecklenburg | 231 |
| Montgomery | 15 |
| Moore | 109 |
| Nash | 29 |
| New Hanover | 109 |
| Onslow | 366 |
| Orange | 16 |
| Pasquotank | 14 |
| Pender | 27 |
| Person | 10 |
| Pitt | 56 |
| Polk | 17 |
| Randolph | 34 |
| Richmond | 28 |
| Robeson | 57 |
| Rockingham | 29 |
| Rowan | 50 |
| Rutherford | 26 |
| Sampson | 29 |
| Scotland | 15 |
| Stanly | 19 |
| Stokes | 14 |
| Surry | 18 |
| Transylvania | 16 |
| Union | 49 |
| Vance | 11 |
| Wake | 226 |
| Watauga | 21 |
| Wayne | 57 |
| Wilkes | 21 |
| Wilson | 26 |
| Yadkin | 10 |
| Yancey | 11 |
*As of fiscal year 2017
**The VA did not include data for counties where the number of living medal recipients was less than 10
Source: US Department of Veterans Affairs
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