Some Vets Want To Change Award Criteria

When Army Captain Luis Montalvan was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, he was ambushed near a Syrian border crossing.

"As the attackers slashed me with their knives, I fired off several shots from my pistol and killed him, then the other attacker got up and started advancing" Montalvan recalled to CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston. "I sustained blunt force trauma to my back. I was essentially paralyzed."

Last summer, Montalvan was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder - PTSD.

Today he experiences flashbacks. "I'll hear something that reminds me of a gun shot or an explosion and I'll automatically reach for my M4," said Montalvan.

Of more than a million and a half U.S. military who've served in Iraq and Afghanistan, 300,000 have symptoms of PTSD, according to a Rand Corporation study.

For his service and his injuries, Montalvan has received more than 30 military commendations and medals, including a Purple Heart. But the Purple Heart is for his physical injuries - not PTSD.

Some veterans think that's unfair.

Former Marine Lieutenant Robert Muller, a Vietnam vet who was wounded in the the line of duty and has been bound to a wheel chair ever since, has a Purple Heart.

"Took a bullet through the chest and that qualified," said Muller.

As head of a veteran's advocacy group, Muller thinks PTSD victims should also be eligible for the Purple Heart, a medal traditionally only given for physical injuries, not psychological illnesses.

"We're not talking about an illness, we're talking about an injury," said Muller. "If you go to war and you have psychic trauma, that's injury."

Montalvan, now a graduate student at Columbia University, disagrees.

"There's a distinction between engaging the enemy and those who suffer psychologically from incidents that may in fact have nothing to do with contact with the enemy," said Montalvan.

The Purple Heart has been around for more than two centuries - General George Washington made the first presentations. The criteria for receiving the award have changed several times.

Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates opened up the possibility of awarding a Purple Heart to PTSD troops when he said it was "an interesting idea … clearly something that needs to be looked into."

But Muller believes Gates should focus on the larger issue - mental illness in the military.

"I am looking at all these troops that are going out there for four, five, six deployments and I'm telling you we are going to have a big problem," said Muller.

Supporters of changing the rules for awarding Purple Hearts say it could be one way of removing the stigma some soldiers feel about admitting they are suffering from mental illness.