~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~
The Purple Heart Medal … 82 Years Old!
Canteen Mission Statement
Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.
President George W. Bush awards a Purple Heart medal and citation to U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick Howard of Windermere, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006, at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., as Howard's parents Bertha and Wally Howard look on. Howard is recovering from wounds suffered in Operation Iraqi Freedom. White House photo by Eric Draper
The Purple Heart is an American decoration-the oldest military decoration in the world in present use and the first American award made available to the common soldier. It was initially created as the Badge of Military Merit by one of the world's most famed and best-loved heroes-General George Washington.
The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration.
General Washington is often pictured as a cold, stern soldier, a proud aristocrat. Yet we know he showed sympathy and concern for his troops, and was not too proud to pray humbly on his knees for his beloved country and for the men who served it, and him, so bravely and loyally. His keen appreciation of the importance of the common soldier in any campaign impelled him to recognize outstanding valor and merit by granting a commission or an advance in rank to deserving individuals.
In the summer of 1782 he was ordered by the Continental Congress to cease doing so-there were no funds to pay the soldiers, much less the officers!
Deprived of his usual means of reward, he must have searched for a substitute. Shortly after receiving the "stop" order from Congress, he wrote his memorable General Orders of August 7, 1782, which read in part as follows:
"The General, ever desirous to cherish virtuous ambition in his soldiers as well as foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings, over his left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk edged with narrow lace or binding. Not only instances of unusual gallantry but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way shall meet with due reward. The name and regiment of the persons so certified are to be enrolled in a Book of Merit which shall be kept in the orderly room." The order further states: "Men who have merited this distinction to be suffered to pass all guards and sentinels which officers are permitted to do. The order to be retroactive to the earliest stages of the war, and to be a permanent one."
Washington ended his order with: "The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all."
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After 150 years of disuse, The newly rediscovered description of the Badge of Merit from Washington's General Orders provided General John J. Pershing with an inspiration for a new decoration for “lesser" acts. In 1921, as the Army Chief of Staff, Pershing began organizing the revival of Washington's Badge. His effort was continued by his successor, General Charles Pelot Summerall.
After becoming the Army Chief of Staff, General Douglas MacArthur finalized the renewal of the nation's oldest military decoration in 1932, just in time for the 200th Anniversary of Washington's birth.
MacArthur named the new award the "Purple Heart," rather than the Badge of Military Merit, and changed the definition of meritorious service to include combat wounds.
On February 22, 1932, the U.S. War Department created the Purple Heart decoration in the shape of a rich purple heart bordered with gold, with a bust of Washington in the center and Washington’s coat-of-arms at the top.
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Aug. 8, 2007) - When Gen. George Washington created the Purple Heart Medal in 1872, he probably never envisioned it would be so huge. Literally.
Artist Roger Baker mowed a 1,000-foot long rendition of the medal, covering 850,000 square feet, into a field at Thomas Bull Memorial Park in Hamtonburgh, N.Y., near the town where the first awards were presented to Revolutionary War Soldiers. Mr. Baker said his creation is a "gift of art" to the American public.
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