CHAPTER PURPOSE  

To preserve the proud legacy of the Purple Heart Medal.

 

Aaron A. Weaver Chapter 776 Military Order of the Purple Heart, P.O. Box 1345, Lecanto, FL 34460-1345

Tel:  352-637-3265 or 352-382-3847               Email:  info@citruspurpleheart.org

Aaron A. Weaver Chapter 776  received award at the Dept. of Florida 66th Annual State Convention

LOCATION

Citrus County Builders Assn.

1196 S. Lecanto Hwy.,  Lecanto

Cdr: Ray Michael

 

Sr. Vice Cdr: Richard S. Allen

 

Jr. Vice Cdr: Lee Helscel

 

Adjutant: Curt Ebitz

 

Finance Off: Phil Pasay

 

Judge Adv: Carl Bertoch

 

Exec Cmteman: Rudy Weddle

 

Alt Cmteman: Richard Hunt

 

Sgt-at-Arms: Richard A. Allen

 

Trustee 3-yrs: Joseph McClister

 

Trustee 2-yrs: Allen Bell

 

Trustee 1-yr: Leon Zimmermann

 

Service Off: Joseph McClister

 

Welfare Off: Lee Helscel

 

Historian: Curt Ebitz

 

Chaplain: Ernie Tucker

 

Americanism Off: John Auble

 

Surgeon: Jim Ralph  

Commander

Ray Michael

At his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, on August 7, 1782, General George Washington devised two new badges of distinction for enlisted men and noncommissioned officers. To signify loyal military service, he ordered a chevron to be worn on the left sleeve of the uniform coat for the rank and file who had completed three years of duty "with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct"; two chevrons signified six years of service. The second badge, for "any singularly meritorious Action," was the "Figure of a Heart in Purple Cloth or Silk edged with narrow Lace or Binding." This device, the Badge of Military Merit, was affixed to the uniform coat above the left breast and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge and to have his name and regiment inscribed in a Book of Merit. The Badge specifically honored the lower ranks, where decorations were unknown in contemporary European Armies. As Washington intended, the road to glory in a patriot army is thus open to all."

 

Pre-WW2 Awards: The Purple Heart as we know it today was reestablished in 1932 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. The original criteria for award of the Purple Heart as published in the War Department Circular No. 6 of February 22, 1932 states that the medal be awarded to anyone serving in the Army who had received combat-related injuries or had received the AEF's Meritorious Service Citation Certificate during WWI, the latter criteria harkening back to the intent of George Washington's "Badge of Military Merit".

 

WWII Awards: In April 1942 the War Department amended its policy regarding the issuance of the Purple Heart. The new regulations authorized the posthumous award of the Purple Heart retroactive to December 7, 1941, and eliminated the use of the medal as a merit award.

 

 

 

Badge of Military Merit

The Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning, GA.