08/08/2026
On 08/07/2026, National Purple Heart Day, we paused and honored those who have made sacrifices for our country who received a Purple Heart.
On this day in 1782:
At his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, General George Washington, the commander in chief of the Continental Army, creates the โBadge for Military Merit,โ a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk, edged with a narrow binding of silver, with the word Merit stitched across the face in silver. The badge was to be presented to soldiers for โany singularly meritorious actionโ and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge. The honoreeโs name and regiment were also to be inscribed in a โBook of Merit.โ
Washingtonโs โPurple Heartโ was awarded to only three known soldiers during the Revolutionary War: Elijah Churchill, William Brown, and Daniel Bissell, Jr. The โBook of Meritโ was lost, and the decoration was largely forgotten until 1927, when General Charles P. Summerall, the U.S. Army chief of staff, sent an unsuccessful draft bill to Congress to โrevive the Badge of Military Merit.โ
In 1931, Summerallโs successor, General Douglas MacArthur, took up the cause, hoping to reinstate the medal in time for the bicentennial of George Washingtonโs birth. On February 22, 1932, Washingtonโs 200th birthday, the U.S. War Department announced the creation of the โOrder of the Purple Heart.โ In addition to aspects of Washingtonโs original design, the new Purple Heart also displays a bust of Washington and his coat of arms.
The Order of the Purple Heart, the oldest American military decoration for military merit, is awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces who have been killed or wounded in action against an enemy. It is also awarded to soldiers who have suffered maltreatment as prisoners of war.
