The Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force or any civilian national of the United States who has been wounded or killed in action.
The Department of Defense reports that 54,246 Americans service men and women lost their lives during the Korean War. This includes all losses world wide. 33,629 were KIA (Killed in Action). Another 8,142 are still listed as Missing; almost all were certainly killed. The total casualty list for the US in the KW was 169,365.
