Trump accepts a Purple Heart amid veteran controversy
ASHBURN, Virginia (AP) — A military veteran gave his Purple Heart to Republican nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday, prompting the Republican nominee to declare that this was "much easier" than serving in combat.
Trump, who is embroiled in a row over his criticism of the family of a slain soldier, said that a man approached him before his event in Ashburn, Virginia, and handed him his medal, which is awarded to soldiers wounded in combat.
On Monday, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, a nonprofit service organization with 1.7 million members, released a statement calling Trump out of bounds for tangling with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, a Muslim family whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq in 2004.
John Bircher, the national spokesman for the Military Order of the Purple Hearts, told The Associated Press that anyone who receives the Purple Heart, a medal that honors servicemen and women injured or killed in battle, is technically entitled to give it away should they choose.
Trump, who has made helping veterans a centerpiece of his campaign, drew criticism for holding a fundraiser for veterans organizations but not distributing the money until news organizations asked questions.
A talented athlete during his high school years in a military academy, he received five draft deferments, one of which came as a result of a physician's letter stating he suffered from bone spurs in his feet.