" .... road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is ... open to all .. " ~ Gen George Washington : Commander-in-chief, Continental Army HQ in Newburg. " .. whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings over the left breast ... the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk edged with narrow lace or binding .... " Well, the first military award introduced in USAF towards the noncommissioned officers, and never repeated again. Purple Heart thus a bit differ from Amor Patriae Vincit, ie., Fidelity Medallion, be considered oldest. Here we may recall of the period when the Purple Heart introduced first time in modern military history for the common noncommissioned officers of the US, the contemporary European countries stuck to their policies to decorate only their battle winning commissiond officers.
