J. Marc Burgess 2019-06-15 00:23:08
In August 1782, Gen. George Washington—then the commander in chief of the Continental Army— designated a badge to be presented to his soldiers for “singularly meritorious action.”
The Badge of Military Merit was simple in design: a purple silk heart, edged in silver and emblazoned with the word “Merit” in silver across its face. This award was presented to just three soldiers throughout the duration of the Revolutionary War and was otherwise largely forgotten until being revived, redesigned and renamed close to 150years later.
In 1927, a bill was sent to Congress seeking to bring the Badge of Merit back into use. In the years following, Gen. Douglas MacArthur advocated for the medal to be reinstated in time foran imminent historic event.
On Feb. 22, 1932, Washington’s 200th birthday, a presidential executive order officially reinstated the award under a new name—the Purple Heart. The first award, which is now given to those wounded or killed in action, was presented to MacArthur himself.
According to the Association of the United States Army, more than 1.5 million Purple Hearts were manufactured in anticipation of the casualties in World War II. However, after the atomic bombs were dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nearly 500,000 medals were left stockpiled. Those medals lasted through Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, with more remaining on hand for later need.
It is always our sincere hope that the need will never come, but we know that is far from reality. In fact, three U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan were killed and another three wounded by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in April. Sgt. 1st Class Will Lindsay and Spc. Joseph Collette were also killed in combat operations in the northern part of the country just weeks earlier.
We know that the Purple Heart— the oldest military award given to U.S. service members—will have a place in our military as long as we have sons and daughters engaged in global conflicts. On Aug. 7, we take time on Purple Heart Day to recognize all those who have been killed or wounded in military service, for their sacrifices to the nation.
To all those in our DAV ranks who have received the Purple Heart, we salute you. And together, we salute those who succumbed to their wounds and those who never returned home.
Published by Disabled American Veterans. View All Articles.
This page can be found at http://digital.dav.org/article/Merit+and+heart/3409279/595939/article.html.