Vol. XXXVI, No. 6 



WASHINGTON 



December, 1919 



ATTO1AL 



D) A ) D 



I 



COPYRIGHT. 1919. BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. WASHINGTON. D C 



THE ROMANCE OF MILITARY INSIGNIA 



How the United States Government Recognizes Deeds 

 of Heroism and Devotion to Duty 



[The numbers in parentheses appearing in the test refer to the corresponding 

 descriptive paragraphs and illustrations in color, pages 502 to 5?6) 



By Col. Robert E. Wyllie, General Staff. U. S. A. 



THE United States has ever been 

 a peace-loving nation, concerned 

 with the industries and arts of 

 peace and giving scant attention to any- 

 thing military. 



To the great bulk of the present gen- 

 eration a soldier in uniform was a rara 

 avis — something to be looked at in 

 astonishment when seen ; so that, even in 

 garrison towns, it is not surprising that 

 the soldier preferred to resort to the 

 camouflage of civilian clothes when go- 

 ing on pass. But now, participation in 

 the great World War has carried the 

 Army into every home in the country ; 

 the uniform is no longer unfamiliar ; it 

 is everywhere, and there is not a family 

 whose members cannot speak with pride 

 of their boy who served Uncle Sam in 

 the great emergency. 



This feeling of personal relationship 

 to the military services carries with it 

 the desire for information, and that is 

 not always so easy to obtain. Four and 

 a half million Americans are now en- 

 titled to the Victory Medal ; yet how 

 many fully comprehend just what thai- 

 medal is, or what is meant by the bit of 

 rainbow ribbon covered with stars that 

 Jack wears so proudly? And that Dis- 



tinguished Service Cross that Bill has ! 

 What relationship does that bear to the 

 Victory Medal, or to the Croix de Guerre 

 that Sam sports? 



And then the shoulder insignia ! More 

 than 2,000,000 men in uniform wore 

 them — designs in all patterns and colors. 

 What was their origin ? Why were they 

 worn ? What do they all mean, anyhow ? 



These are now subjects of interest in 

 American homes. The previous indiffer- 

 ence has been replaced by a thirst for 

 information, due to the personal touch 

 that each family now has with the Army 

 and Navy, and it furnishes the excuse 

 for what is to follow. If you insist that 

 you are not interested, in spite of the 

 above assertions to the contrary, skip 

 the reading matter and confine your at- 

 tention to the illustrations, for you can- 

 not resist the reproductions of the Beck 

 Engraving Company. 



THE ORIGIN OF MKOAT.S 



The origin of medals and oilier simi- 

 lar decorations is lost in the mists of an- 

 tiquity. Probably the earliest historical 

 record was the award made by an Em- 

 peror of China, in the first century of the 

 Christian era, to his military commanders. 



