Red blooded Americans with true blue determination receive the Purple Heart for merit

Though some have thought of General George Washington as being cold and stern, he held a deep concern for his troops and never hesitated to bend a knee and pray humbly for the country he loved and diligently served. The deep appreciation he had for the ‘common’ soldier created in him a passion to recognize outstanding valor and merit. His way of doing this was to bestow a commission or advancement of some sort on the deserving soldier. As the American Revolution drew to a close, the Continental Congress began to put the brakes on General Washington’s efforts to recognize the merit of various members in this manner due to the lack of funds in the treasury to pay the soldiers.

Not one to be put off in his determination to accomplish this task, especially with regard to enlisted troops, General Washington established the Badge of Military Merit on August 7, 1782 at Newburgh, NY. When Washington created the award, he stipulated it would be for enlisted personnel only and grant the recepient the distinction of being permitted to pass all sentinels and guards in the same manner as a commissioned officer. The award was to be a permanent award and the names of the recipients would be registered in the Book of Merit.

The oldest military decoration for the United States, the Badge of Merit was the first American award made available to the ‘common’ soldier. When General Washington first instituted the award, it was created from purple cloth to represent courage and edged with either binding or narrow lace. The design was said to be Washington’s own and that his friend, the Marquis de Lafayette, gave him a bolt of rich purple silk from which Martha Washington stitched the first badges.

Years later, the Badge of Military Merit was practically forgotten until the 20th century. In addition, the Book of Merit was somehow lost and never recovered. At that time, only three recipients were known to be listed in the book – Sergeant William Brown 5th Connecticut Continental Line Infantry (CCLI), Sergeant Daniel Bissel, 2nd CCLI, and Sergeant Elijah Churchill, 2nd Continental Light Dragoons. Sgts. Churchill and Brown received their Badge of Military Merit on May 3, 1783 from General Washington. On June 10, 1783, Sgt. Bissell received his. Legend states Daniel Bissell was buried with a faded piece of purple cloth pinned to his chest. Later, in the 1800s, a gentleman by the name of William Willey discovered a Revolutionary War coat in a barn. He took the coat home and later found a small silk heart pinned to it. Historians later examined the heart and stated it truly was one of the original awards. The badge awarded to Sgt. Churchill is now owned by the New Windsor Cantonment, National Temple Hill Association in Vails Gate, NY.

In honor of President George Washington’s 200th birthday, the Purple Heart was revived and redesigned. President Herbert Hoover stated: “By order of the President of the United States, the Purple Heart established by General George Washington at Newburgh, August 7, 1782, during the War of the Revolution, is hereby revived out of respect to his memory and military achievements.”

January 7, 1931, the Washington Commission of Fine Arts was selected for the creation of the new design. Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist with the Office of the Quartermaster General, received the honor of creating the new medal’s design. General specifications were presented to her and from those, she sketched her design.

Once the design was created, three leading sculptors were selected by the Commission of Fine Arts to create the plaster models, from which one would be chosen. In May 1931, the selection was made and the preferred model was created by John R. Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint.

The obverse of the new design displays a profile of George Washington in his Continental Army uniform, affixed to a background of purple enamel and bordered with gold. Displayed above Washington’s head is his family crest (a white shield with two red bars and three red stars in the chief, said to be the inspiration for the American flag) supported by laurel leaves. The reverse of the medal is of raised bronze and inscribed, “For Military Merit.” The medal is suspended from a ribbon with three stripes, the two outside stripes are white and the wider center stripe purple. Recipients of more than one Purple Heart who are members of either the Army or Air Force receive oak leaf clusters for each subsequent award. Those in the Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard are presented stars.

General Douglas MacArthur was presented the first of the newly designed Purple Hearts for his actions during World War I. During that war, more than 250,000 veterans became eligible to receive a Purple Heart.

Regulations state, “A wound which necessitates treatment by a medical officer and which is received in action with an enemy, may in the judgment of the commander authorized to make the award be construed as resulting from a singularly meritorious act of essential service.”

Presented in the name of the President of the United States, to date 1,534,600 Purple Hearts have been awarded by a grateful nation.
 

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