For Immediate Release:
August 2, 2004

THE MILITARY ORDER OF THE PURPLE HEART HONORS RECIPIENTS OF AWARD CREATED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON
Ceremony to be held at George Washington's Mount Vernon

MOUNT VERNON, Va. - The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Greater Washington Chapter 353, will commemorate the oldest military decoration in the world on the anniversary of its first issuance. The ceremony will take place at 12 noon on August 7 at the Purple Heart Memorial, the origin point of the nationwide Purple Heart Trail. The Trail begins outside the Main Gate of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens.

The award was first given by General George Washington at Newburgh, New York on August 7, 1782 during the Revolutionary War to recognize distinction for meritorious action. The Purple Heart is currently awarded in the name of the President of the United States to members of the U.S. military who have been wounded or killed in action. According to the Military Order of the Purple Heart, an organization for combat-wounded veterans, the medal is “the oldest military decoration in the world in present use and the first award made available to a common soldier.”

Guest Speaker First Lieutenant Dewayne White served in Germany, twice in Bosnia and most recently in Iraq. He has worked as a nuclear weapons inspector escort and Russian interpreter for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. On April 8, 2003 White’s Bradley fighting vehicle was attacked. He was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart. 1LT White returned to his platoon the next day and served with them until they left Iraq.

On its first issuance, the badge consisted of a heart made of purple cloth. It was awarded to three sergeants from Connecticut regiments: Elijah Churchill and William Brown on May 3, 1783, in Newburgh, New York, and Daniel Bissell, Jr., on June 10, 1783.

Known as the Badge of Military Merit, the award was distinctive because it was available to the lower ranks at a time when only officers were eligible for decoration in European armies. “The road to glory in a patriot army,” Washington wrote, “is thus open to all.”

The decoration was not continued after the Revolutionary War, but was reinstated by the U.S. War Department (now the Department of Defense) on February 22, 1932, the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birth. The redesigned decoration consists of a purple heart of metal bordered by gold and suspended from a purple and white ribbon. In the center of the medal is a profile bust of George Washington beneath his family coat of arms.

Since World War II, U.S. presidents have expanded the eligibility requirements for the Purple Heart. On December 3, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order that extended the award to the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard and made the change retroactive to December 6, 1941. President Harry S. Truman later extended the date of eligibility retroactively to April 5, 1917, to include those who were injured or killed during World War I.

From 1962 to 1998, civilian personnel wounded or killed while serving under military command were also eligible for the Purple Heart, in accordance with a 1962 executive order by President John F. Kennedy. That order also prompted a policy change to include prisoners of war wounded during captivity. (A 1996 law authorized awarding the Purple Heart to POWs wounded before April 25, 1962.) Kennedy’s 1962 executive order was amended in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan to include both military personnel and civilians under military authority who were killed or wounded in an international terrorist attack after March 28, 1973.

A law that went into effect in 1998 restored the previous criteria so that now only members of the U.S. armed forces may receive the Purple Heart. The Defense of Freedom Medal, the civilian equivalent of the Purple Heart, was unveiled by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld on September 27, 2001. Recipients of the Purple Heart may also join the Military Order of the Purple Heart, “the only congressionally chartered veterans organization exclusively for combat-wounded veterans.” Formed shortly after the 1932 reinstitution of the Purple Heart and chartered by Congress in 1958, the organization represents veterans before the federal government, offers assistance to veterans and their families, and also participates in numerous charitable programs, including volunteer efforts and scholarships.

Events, programs, and activities are subject to change.

Public Information: 703-780-2000; 703-799-8697 (TDD); www.mountvernon.org

George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, open to the public since 1860, communicates the character and leadership of Washington to millions of Americans each year through a variety of interpretive programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation. Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, founded in 1853, making it America’s oldest national preservation organization. Mount Vernon is located at the southern end of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, just 16 miles from Washington, D.C.

Hours of operation: April-August, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March, September, October, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; November - February, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular Estate admission rates: adults, $11.00; senior citizens, $10.50; and children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $5. George Washington’s Gristmill admission rates, in addition to Estate admission: $4 for adults and $2 for children (6-11). Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.