The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award that is still given to members of the U.S. military, the only earlier award being the obsolete Fidelity Medallion. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York.
Read more about Purple Heart: History, Criteria, Presentation, Notable Recipients, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words purple and/or heart:
“They turn’d to rest; and, each clasp’d by an arm,
Yielded to the deep twilight’s purple charm.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)