John Liller Receiving Purple Heart

Name/Title

John Liller Receiving Purple Heart

Description

A newspaper photo of John Liller was captioned "Bronxite Wins Purple Heart," with John Liller receiving the Purple Heart from Commodore R.W. Cary of the US Naval Training and Distribution Center, Treasure Island, California. Liller was awarded the purple heart for wounds received during the kamikaze attack on the USS Laffey (DD-724) off Okinawa.

Context

John Francis "Jack" Liller Jr., Yeoman 3/c of Bronx, New York, was a member of the original crew of the USS Laffey (DD-724). Liller received the Purple Heart for wounds he received during the kamikaze attacks on the ship at Okinawa on April 16, 1945.

Collection

John Liller Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.7

Source or Donor

Rich Ryder

Acquisition Method

Donation

Update Date

April 14, 2025