My Grandpa was shot on Iwo Jima by a Japanese sniper as he ran for ammunition. He was shot through the lung and wasn't found until 24 hours after, but he lived. He smoked 3 packs of cigs a day on that one lung until the 60's!
He died in 1983 while I was in Electronics "A" school at Great Lakes Naval Station. My Grandma gave me the Purple Heart he earned on Iwo, along with accompanying copies of letters sent to the Marine Corps Commandant requesting it because "My wife and mother are giving me hell..." he said in the note. The medal was one of 500,000 produced for the invasion of Japan that never happened, but there were none left on March 6,1945 for him because they ran out of them as servicemen were WIA/KIA's around the World. This is his medal.