Biden Claims His Uncle Won Purple Heart During World War II Battle, But Details Make Biden’s Story Impossible

Ryan SaavedraDecember 17, 2022

President Joe Biden claimed Friday that someone in his family won the Purple Heart for his actions during a famous battle in World War II — however, there is reportedly no evidence to substantiate Biden’s claims and key details make it impossible for the story to be true.

The president — who is notorious for making up stories, making embarrassing gaffes, or forgetting basic details — made the remarks on Friday at a Delaware Veterans Summit and PACT Act Town Hall.

The story was about Biden’s uncle Frank, who he claimed fought in the Battle of the Bulge, Nazi Germany’s last major offensive campaign during the war where the Nazis failed to split the allied forces, paving the way for the allies to win the war.

Biden said:

You know, I — my dad, when I got elected vice president, he said, “Joey, Uncle Frank fought in the Battle of the Bulge.” He was not feeling very well now — not because of the Battle of the Bulge. But he said, “And he won the Purple Heart. And he never received it. He never — he never got it. Do you think you could help him get it? We’ll surprise him.”

So we got him the Purple Heart. He had won it in the Battle of the Bulge. And I remember he came over to the house, and I came out, and he said, “Present it to him, okay?” We had the family there.

I said, “Uncle Frank, you won this. And I want to…” He said, “I don’t want the damn thing.” (Laughter.) No, I’m serious. He said, “I don’t want it.” I said, “What’s the matter, Uncle Frank? You earned it.” He said, “Yeah, but the others died. The others died. I lived. I don’t want it.”

However, Biden’s father, Joseph R. Biden Sr., died in September 2002, more than six years before Biden became vice president in the Obama administration, the New York Post noted.

Frank Biden died even earlier, in 1999, more than nine years before Biden became vice president.

The report noted that an extensive search of multiple record databases did not find any evidence that Frank Biden was ever awarded the Purple Heart.