JOHN SINNOCK AND THE PURPLE HEART

I'm sure Dave was thinking of John Sinnock, not Frank Gasparro, when he wrote about the U.S. Mint's involvement with the Purple Heart.

However, it would be an exaggeration, if not an outright misstatement, to say that Sinnock designed it. It's not unlike the Mint's assertion that its own staff artists "designed" the state quarters when all they did in many cases was execute designs created by outsiders.

Gen. George Washington "devised" the original award -- a Badge of Military Merit, which he specified should consist of purple cloth or silk in the form of a heart edged with narrow lace or binding. Recipients' names were to be inscribed in a Book of Merit. As it turned out, Washington awarded this badge only three times during the then-waning days of the American Revolution and it fell into disuse thereafter, despite his stated wish that it should become a permanent form of recognition for battlefield valor.

In the late 1920s, with the bicentennial of Washington's birth drawing near, efforts were made to revive the award, and a bill to accomplish that was introduced in Congress. But the legislation made little headway and was withdrawn. It took another formidable Army commander, Gen. Douglas MacArthur -- then the Army's Chief of Staff -- to marshal the needed support. On Feb. 22, 1932, Washington's 200th birth anniversary, the award was officially revived "out of respect of his memory and military achievements."

The Army Office of the Quartermaster General was responsible at that time for preparing military awards and medals, and the task of designing the updated version of what came to be known as the "Purple Heart" was assigned to Elizabeth Will, one of two heraldic artists in that office. John Sinnock, then chief sculptor-engraver of the Mint, was commissioned to refine the design and mold a plaster model.

The modern Purple Heart consists of an inner heart made of purple plastic (originally enamel) atop a larger outer heart of gold-colored metal. On the purple inner heart, General Washington is shown in left-facing profile and his portrait is in gold-colored metal and raised relief. Above this heart is Washington's coat of arms -- an enamel shield of white with two horizontal bands of red. Above these are three red stars with sprays of green leaves on either side of the shield.

The reverse of the outer heart bears the three-line inscription "For Military Merit," with a space below for the recipient's name. The medal is attached to a ribbon colored deep purple with narrow white edges.

Although Sinnock didn't "design" the Purple Heart in the sense that he designed the Roosevelt dime and Franklin half dollar, he did make important modifications to Elizabeth Will's design -- notably by replacing a leaf in the center of the inner heart with Washington's profile.

The award is conferred on any person wounded in action while serving with the U.S. armed forces. It also is presented posthumously to the next of kin of personnel killed in action or who died of wounds suffered in action. To qualify, a recipient must have died or been wounded as a result of an act by any opposing armed force, in an international terrorist attack or during military operations while serving as part of a peacekeeping force.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: DID THE U.S. MINT MAKE EMBLEMS FOR THE MARINE CORPS? (/www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n02a15.html)

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