Dorado Purple Heart

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Are you a Dorado family member and would like to be a signatory on a formal request to have the Purple Heart awarded to the entire crew? Send us an email here: ussdoradoproject@gmail.com

One of the primary goals of The USS Dorado Project is to petition for an award of the Purple Heart medal for all of Dorado's crew. We believe an administrative oversight occurred after the Dorado's loss and a determination concerning the award was left in a pending status during WWII due to uncertainty regarding the circumstances. Examination of German U-boat records months after the war further clarified the circumstances of Dorado's loss as a likely friendly fire incident, and contemporary precedent shows that her crew should have been awarded the Purple Heart. Yet a decision appears to have never been definitively made. At least two of Dorado's seventy-seven crew members (Signalman 1st Class Richard Becker and Fireman 1st Class Vernon Gardner) received the Purple Heart within two years of the war's end, when family members petitioned the Navy Department on their behalf after the close of the war. The response by the Navy's Bureau of Personnel granted the Purple Heart to SM1c Becker and F1c Gardner without reservation and it clearly states they were both entitled to it.

We presented our case in Washington, D.C. in May of 2025 to Rear Admiral Samuel Cox (Ret.), the Director of the Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC), and Dr. Alexis Catsambis, the head of the Underwater Archeology Branch (UAB), and they have agreed to provide assistance and oversight in this matter. We would like it to be clear that The USS Dorado Project does not in any way represent the U.S. Navy or the NHHC.

We are currently (summer of 2025) in the process of drafting a formal letter to the Office of the Secretary of the Navy Awards Board petitioning for an assessment to be made in this matter. We believe that it would add impetus and strength to our letter if we can garner the support and endorsement of as many close relatives as possible. Spouses, siblings and children are ideal, however grandchildren, nieces and nephews are also deeply appreciated. If you are a family member of a Dorado crewman and would like to be a signatory for this letter, please email us at the email address listed below to dialogue further. The case for correcting this unfortunate oversight is laid out in detail in the video below by Project Manager Thaddeus Weaver. Please watch and offer your thoughts. Thank you.

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Thaddeus Weaver & David Johnston
©2025 - Thaddeus Weaver & PigBoats.COM
West Warwick, RI, Norfolk, VA
ussdoradoproject@gmail.com