Lee Graves got some good news last week. But it may not be good news for those in uniform. On Wednesday he received an official order to make 9,000 Purple Hearts. As you know, Purple Hearts are awarded to servicemen and women who are wounded in a zone of hostility during the war. Now I wonder if any of this correlates with President Clinton's pending decision about 90,000 troops which may be ordered to Kosovo. Although the Defense Department is downplaying the Purple Heart order, it does make you wonder doesn't it? Lee Graves said he was a little surprised to get an order that big from the Defense Logistics Agency. His medal-making company (Graco Industries) is located in Tomball, Texas. He has been producing medals and campaign ribbons for 20 years and has never been asked to fulfill an order for Purple Hearts, until last week. He believes that the order signals the possibility of war. They want 1,400 Purple Hearts for November, 1,400 for December, 1,600 for January, 1,600 for February, 1,600 for March, and 1,400 for April. He believes that a 10 percent casualty rate would mean an order for 9,000 Purple Hearts. He hopes that the casualties would be wounded, not killed. The Defense Department doesn't really want to talk about the order. The official statement is that they want to maintain the quantity of supply. But of course, no one received an order for 9,000 Purple Hearts last year. Lee Graves received an order for that many this year, though. The other day, Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard said that he believed that U.S. Troops would be in Kosovo by November. Recently released documents from Defense Department briefings suggest that the President is no longer reluctant to commit ground troops. Now we are told that peace is at hand. Maybe, but you've got to wonder about this recent order for Purple Hearts.
I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.