Money Museum Creates a Veterans Week Exhibit

The ANA’s Edward C. Rochette Money Museum has created a special exhibit for Colorado Springs’ Veterans Week, held every November. The display, open for a special one-day event on November 7, will showcase the Purple Heart medal. The exhibit explores how the once-forgotten medal became so important and includes original artwork used in the design and engraving process. Other historic medals from the Revolutionary War and the Civil War will also be featured, plus 150 Department of Defense medals and decorations.

“My hope is that veterans will be able to see the material and connect with it along with their families,” says Money Museum Curator and Director Doug Mudd. “That’s always where the problem is. The veterans know what it’s about, but it’s the families that sometimes need a little more information, a little bit more to connect with.”

The Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is the oldest active military award in the United States. Fittingly, the concept for it originated with the most iconic figure in American history—George Washington. In an effort to recognize the sacrifices of soldiers and boost morale in the midst of the Revolutionary War, Washington issued the Badge of Military Merit, a purple heart made of cloth to be worn over the left breast. 

The badge was soon forgotten, until 150 years later when U.S. Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur renamed it the Purple Heart and declared it would be awarded for valorous acts of service in the U.S. Army. By the end of World War II, over 1 million Purple Hearts were presented to men and women wounded or killed by enemy action, across all service branches. The criteria for eligibility for the Purple Heart has continued to evolve over the years. No comprehensive list of Purple Heart recipients exists, but the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor estimates the total number to be 1.8 million.