Wounded in action (WIA) describescombatants who have beenwounded while fighting in acombat zone duringwartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight.[1] Generally, the Wounded in Action are far more numerous than those killed. Common combat injuries include second and third-degree burns, broken bones,shrapnel wounds, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, nerve damage, paralysis, loss of sight and hearing,post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and limb loss.[2]
For theU.S. military, becoming WIA in combat generally results in subsequent conferral of thePurple Heart, because the purpose of the medal itself (one of the highest awards,military orcivilian, officially given by the American government) is to recognize those killed, incapacitated, or wounded in battle.
A battlecasualty other thankilled in action who has incurred an injury due to an external agent or cause. The term encompasses all kinds of wounds and other injuries incurred in action, whether there is a piercing of the body, as in a penetrating or perforated wound, or none, as in the contused wound; all fractures, burns, blast concussions, all effects ofbiological andchemical warfare, the effects of exposure toionizing radiation or any other destructive weapon or agent.[3]
A battlecasualty who later dies of wounds or other injuries received in action, after having reached a medical treatment facility.[3] In the United States the acronym used is DOW, whileNATO uses DWRIA.
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