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Community Corner

Route 5: Connecticut's 'Purple Heart Highway'

The first three recipients of the distinguished military award, which was bestowed by Gen. George Washington himself, all hailed from Connecticut.

If you’ve ever been on Route 5 anywhere between the border of East Windsor south to the I-84 junction in East Hartford, you may have noticed that stretch of road is known as the "Purple Heart Highway." You may not know, however, that a movement began in 1992 to start a national Purple Heart Trail throughout the United States.

So far, 45 out of the 50 states  – plus the U.S. possession Guam – have a road or a segment of a road named after the Purple Heart award—the oldest known military award still given in the world. The Route 5 designation is one of many significant connections between the prestigious Purple Heart award and the state of Connecticut.

The original award was called ‘The Badge of Military Merit," and was established by General George Washington from his headquarters in Newburgh, N.Y., on August 7, 1782.

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With the establishment of the Badge of Military Merit, General Washington broke new ground, as the award was the first designed for any soldier regardless of rank: "The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all," said Washington’s order which established the award; previously, European military medals were given only to officers.

Only three men –all non-commissioned officers--received the "Badge of Military Merit" during the American Revolution. Although never abolished, the award lay in dormancy until its revival in 1927 by Army Chief of Staff, General Charles P. Summerall. Summerall proposed that a bill be sent to Congress to revive the award.

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The proposed legislation stalled, however, for various reasons. Once again the award lay dormant; however, Summerall’s successor, General Douglas MacArthur, quietly revived the proposal in 1931 with a new sense of urgency to have it ready by the bicentennial of George Washington’s birthday in 1932.

This time the proposal reached fruition, as President Herbert Hoover officially revived the newly re-designed medal by executive order in time for the commemoration of Washington’s bicentennial in 1932. Heraldic specialist and artist, Elizabeth Will, sketched the new design, which was then executed by sculptor John Sinnock of the Philadelphia mint.

George Washington himself designed the original Badge of Military Merit in the form of purple fabric cut into the shape of a heart (see photo). The word "Merit" was embroidered across the badge within a floral spray.

The more recent (and current) appearance of the award designed by Elizabeth Will retains many of the original characteristics. It shows a heart-shaped medal within a gold border containing a profile of George Washington. Above the heart appears the coat of arms of Washington; above the coat of arms is a hexagonal shaped purple ribbon with a partial thin white border.

The back of the medal reveals a bronze heart in relief with the words, "For Military Merit."

The specific guidelines for its issuance have been modified over the years; nevertheless, the intent of the award is that it be given to anyone killed or wounded by direct hostile action of the enemy. It differs significantly from other military awards in that recipients are not recommended for the Purple Heart; rather, they are entitled to it for being wounded or killed by the enemy.

Certain injuries in war – such as getting trenchfoot in World War I or sunstroke in desert warfare – are not considered injuries that directly resulted from an enemy’s actions; therefore, soldiers injured in such a way – and many others such as accidents – would not be eligible for a Purple Heart.

Civilians were at one time eligible for the award, but a law passed in 1997 mandates that the Purple Heart only be given out to military personnel in the future.

Hoover’s executive order re-establishing the Purple Heart in 1932 was retroactive to April 5, 1917 – the day before the United States formally declared war on Germany in World War I. In what may seem to be a bit of a self-serving gesture, General Douglas MacArthur – who was principally responsible for reviving the award – was the first to receive the newly designed Purple Heart for his service in World War I.

More than 320,000 other World War I veterans also received the Purple Heart retroactively. The November 2009 edition of National Geographic gives the following estimate of Purple Heart awards:

  • World War I: 320, 518
  • World War II: 1,076, 245
  • Korean War: 118,650
  • Vietnam War: 351,794
  • Persian Gulf: 607
  • Afghanistan War: 7,027 (as of 6/5/10)
  • Iraq War: 35, 321 (as of 6/5/10)

The estimated overall total to date is just under 2 million Purple Heart awards.

Like all of the Founding Fathers, George Washington’s education was steeped in the classical world. He surely knew that purple had long been considered a special color when he designed the first purple heart award.

Its association with royalty goes back to antiquity. Using liquid extracted from sea snails, the ancient Phoenicians were among the first to use purple dye on fabric. The production and distribution of textiles colored with purple was actually a very tightly controlled enterprise in the ancient world. Porphyrogenitos is an ancient Greek word meaning "born into the purple," meaning born into royalty.

One of purple’s most unusual characteristics is that as it ages, weathers, and gets more exposed to sunlight, its color actually deepens and intensifies rather than fades. Its special properties made purple the right choice for such a prestigious honor as the Purple Heart.

So remember that the next time you drive on Route 5 from East Hartford to the East Windsor border, you are driving on a special road marked by a purple sign that is part of a much larger network of Purple Heart roads located in 45 of our 50 states (see photo).

It is most appropriate for Connecticut to be part of this system as the first three men who ever received the award from General George Washington himself were from the Nutmeg state.

In next week’s column, we will examine the lives of these three under-publicized Nutmeggers and see why the Purple Heart Highway designation should be extended to include Route 5 in Enfield.

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