Colonel Purcell enlisted in the Navy during World War II at 17. During the war, he served in the Asiatic-Pacific theatre at sea and on land in Hawaii, Guam and Okinawa. At the end of the war, he was honorably discharged with the rank of Petty Officer 3rd Class. He enrolled at Siena College, graduating with a BA in Sociology in 1948. COL Purcell received the Doctorate in Scientific Psychology from the Fordham University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in New York City.
During the Korean War, Colonel Purcell was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Army, completing Officer basic training at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. During the war, he was stationed at Valley Forge, PA and Fort Lewis in Tacoma, WA. On discharge he continued in Reserve status, and through the grade of Captain functioned as Intelligence Officer and Operations Officer with the 320th General Hospital in New York City and the 364th Army Reserve Medical Unit Corps in Albany, NY. COL Purcell received individual assignments as Clinical Psychology Officer at Fort Dix, NJ, Fort Devens, MA, Fort Meade, MD and Walter Reed General Hospital. He also served as a War Games Umpire at Fort Drum NY, and as a Liaison Officer to West Point. COL Purcell was Consulting Psychologist at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, NY and consulted and taught at numerous organizations and colleges. Upon promotion to LT Colonel and Colonel, Colonel Purcell received Assignments as Special Assistant to the Chief of the Behavioral Science Laboratories at Alexandria, VA. COL Purcell held an additional Mobilization Designation position in the Psychology Consultants Branch of the Army Surgeon General’s Office at the Pentagon. During his Pentagon assignments, Colonel Purcell studied and reported on biofeedback, relatively new at the time, as a projected treatment technique.
Concurrent with his active duty service, Colonel Purcell was assigned to the 1062nd Reserve Training Unit (Logistics) at the Army Reserve Training Center in Albany, New York, eventually becoming its Commander for a number of years prior to his retirement from the service in 1982.