General George Washington ordered the creation of the Badge of Military Merit, a purple cloth heart awarded to soldiers for 'any singularly meritorious action.' Only three enlisted soldiers received it during the Revolutionary War before the honor fell into disuse. It was revived in 1932, on Washington's 200th birthday, as the modern Purple Heart, now awarded to U.S. service members wounded or killed in combat.
Washington's original badge was strikingly egalitarian for its era: unlike European military honors reserved for officers, it was meant explicitly for enlisted men and non-commissioned officers whose bravery might otherwise go unrecognized by history. The recipient simply pinned a piece of purple silk, shaped like a heart, over his uniform's left breast.
Only three men are documented as receiving it in Washington's lifetime — Sergeants Elijah Churchill, William Brown, and Daniel Bissell, all cited for daring raids. After the war the honor essentially vanished, an orphaned idea with no bureaucracy to sustain it.
It lay dormant for a century and a half until the War Department, seeking to honor Washington's bicentennial in 1932, revived it as a decoration for combat wounds. Douglas MacArthur championed the revival. Today it is among the most solemn of American military honors, its purple heart shape unchanged since a general scratched out its design in a farmhouse headquarters.
Key people: George Washington