Frank W. Groves was a private with the 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st  Division, and was at the Battle of Cantigny. The 21-year-old volunteered to be a runner and take messages from one location to another. According to Groves, “I felt I was saving more people and helping to end it sooner. Carrying the messages made me feel effective and important.” Private Groves survived World War I despite being hospitalized for injuries.

Forgotten for almost 150 years, the purple heart medal was awarded by George Washington during the Revolutionary War and then fell out of use. Army General Order No. 3 re-established the purple heart award in 1932, and World War I veterans received the award more than a decade after the war for their “meritorious act of extraordinary fidelity or essential service.”