History

From The Badge of Merit to The Purple Heart

New Windsor Cantonment is the site of the final encampment of America's first army at the close of our country's War of Independence.

To honor the service of his troops, General George Washington chose a select few of his troops to receive a small purple cloth Badge of Merit, the precursor to the Purple Heart award. One of three known Badges of Military Merit, the only documented surviving example, is on exhibit here.

So it is natural that this significant historic site was selected to be the home of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. In 1932 the new Purple Heart medal was presented to 150 veterans of World War I on these same historic grounds.

The Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration still in use and was the first to honor the common soldier. It was initially created as the Badge of Military Merit by the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, General George Washington. A leader who understood the importance of the individual soldier, Washington vowed "to make it the most agreeable part of [his] duty to study merit, and reward the brave and deserving." His appreciation for the common soldier impelled him to recognize outstanding valor and merit by granting a commission or an advance in rank to deserving individuals. However, towards the end of the Revolutionary War, he was ordered by the Continental Congress to cease doing so because of the lack of available funds.

Deprived of his usual means of reward, Washington devised a substitute. In his General Orders of August 7, 1782, Washington declared 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." This document would be lost, as would the dramatic accounts of three soldiers from the New Windsor Cantonment who received the decoration. The Book of Merit has not been found, and the Badge of Merit fell out of use after the Revolutionary War. But, the need to create a military decoration that honored the common soldier remained.

It wasn't until World War I, nearly 150 years later, that the drive to reinstate the award was taken up. In 1918, besides the Congressional Medal of Honor, the only other awards for merit were the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal. General John J. Pershing, the commander of the American forces during World War I saw that these were awarded only for very high levels of gallantry and heroism, and that the system of award lacked an award for "lesser" acts. Pershing felt a "Third Decoration [was] necessary to do substantial justice to a very large number of deserving officers and men." The newly rediscovered description of the Badge of Merit from Washington's General Orders provided Pershing with an inspiration for the new decoration. In 1921, as the Army Chief of Staff, Pershing began organizing the revival of Washington's Badge.

About ten years after Pershing's initial recommendation, just in time for the 200th Anniversary of Washington's birth, General Douglas MacArthur finalized the renewal of the nation's oldest military decoration. In order to do so, he gave the award some new features. In a December 7, 1931 memorandum, MacArthur directed that the name of the new award be the "Purple Heart" rather than the Badge of Military Merit. More importantly, MacArthur changed the definition of meritorious service to include combat wounds. The U.S. War Department instated the Purple Heart decoration on February 22, 1932. The revived form is of metal, instead of perishable cloth, made in the shape of a rich purple heart bordered with gold, with a bust of Washington in the center and the Washington coat-of-arms at the top.

The Purple Heart has undergone many changes with respect to the criteria for its award. At first, the Purple Heart was exclusively awarded to Army and Army Air Corps personnel and could not be awarded posthumously to the next of kin. The need for the decoration within the Navy and for posthumous award soon became apparent after the Battle of Pearl Harbor. Thus, in 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order allowing the Navy to award the Purple Heart to sailors, Marines, and Coast Guard personnel. Also in that year, the Purple Heart was made available for posthumous award to any member of the military killed on or after December 7, 1941. Civilians affiliated or working closely with the armed forces were also made eligible to receive the Purple Heart, however, in 1997 Congress passed legislation prohibiting its future award to civilians.

Another important change was due to the creation of the Legion of Merit medal also in 1942. As a result, the award of the Purple Heart for meritorious service became unnecessary and was therefore discontinued. Many who had received Purple Hearts for merit were forced to return them, often in exchange for other decorations.

The Purple Heart became a decoration available to all who serve, but desired by none. As per United States Army regulations, the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after April 5, 1917 has been wounded, killed, died after being wounded, or has been held as a prisoner of war. As it was when General Washington created it, the Purple Heart is specifically a combat decoration.