WIA - Wounded In Action

Our organization is for military veterans who were classified within the following Department of Defense Casualty Keys WIA = Wounded in Action, POW = Prisoner of War, KIA = Killed in Action, MIA = Missing in Action.

​

Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed.

 

Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight. Generally, the Wounded in Action are far more numerous than those killed. 

​

For the U.S. military,  WIA in combat generally results in subsequent conferral of the Purple Heart, because the purpose of the medal itself (one of the highest awards, military or civilian, officially given by the American government) is to recognize those killed, incapacitated, or wounded in battle.