Today is National Purple Heart Day. The Purple Heart is the nation’s oldest military award still given today, a medal presented to service members who were wounded or killed while serving in combat. In my own family, one of our most cherished possessions is the Purple Heart that my Great-Uncle, Staff Sergeant Stephen Nemes (Tail Gunner) received after being killed in action during WWII.
Every August 7, we set aside a day to remember what that medal represents and the people who carry it. This year, Kentucky has two new laws worth mentioning alongside it.
HB 369 adds post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the list of conditions that qualify a veteran for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a treatment already available to veterans with traumatic brain injuries. For veterans whose combat service left them with PTSD, this opens up a treatment option that wasn’t available to them before, alongside a prescription from their provider and informed consent about the process. HB 436 does something smaller but just as meaningful: it lets graduates of PGA HOPE, the PGA’s program for military veterans, including wounded and disabled veterans, play golf courses at Kentucky’s state parks without paying green fees, bringing a guest along with them at no charge either.
Neither bill fixes everything a veteran carries home from service. But between expanding access to treatment and opening the door to something as simple as a round of golf with a fellow veteran, both are steps toward the kind of support Kentucky’s veterans have earned.
HB 369 was sponsored by Rep. Scott Sharp and passed the House 93-0 and the Senate 38-0. HB 436 was sponsored by Rep. Tom Smith and passed the House 94-0 and the Senate 38-0.