Patrick Reddy

preddy@enquirer.com

Purple Heart recipients say they share a bond held by a fraction of the U.S. population.

Donald Trump doesn’t belong, Cincinnati-area Purple Heart veterans said Wednesday, as they marked National Purple Heart Day with a ceremony on Fountain Square.

Trump, who is not a veteran, received a replica Purple Heart from a supporter Tuesday after the GOP presidential nominee said he "always wanted to get" the Purple Heart. This was "much easier" than serving in combat, Trump said. Purple Heart medals are awarded to service members who are wounded in combat.

Rather than make a show of the presentation, Trump should have told his supporter, " 'Thanks for the honor, but I can’t accept it' – and shut up about it," said Jerry Johnson, of Amelia, who was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in 1968 in Vietnam.

Greenhills' Russell Carlson agreed. "I think he should have said, 'This is reserved for combat-wounded veterans only. I have to turn it down,' " said Carlson, who was wounded in 1950 at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War.