HISTORY OF THE FRENCH FOURRAGERE

The French Government awarded decorations for especially meritorious conduct in action during World War I to 156 American units varying in size from a section to a brigade. These decorations were the Fourragere and the Croix de Guerre with various combinations of palms, gilt, silver, and bronze stars. The unit twice decorated with the Croix de Guerre with Palms was entitled to a braided and knotted cord, called a Fourragere, in the green and red colors of the Croix de Guerre. The Fourragere becomes part of the uniform of the unit so cited and all members of the organization are authorized to wear the decoration on the left shoulder of the uniform as long as they remain members of the organization. According to Larousse's Grand Dictionary of the XIX Century, the Fourragere was originated by the Duke of Alva, a Spanish general. After a unit of Flemish troops had made a rather hasty withdrawal from the battlefield, the Duke ordered "that any further misconduct, on the part of these troops, should be punished by hanging, without regard for rank or grade". The Flemish warriors, determined to reestablish themselves in the good graces of their commander, wore -- as a reminder of their disgrace -- coiled around one shoulder, a rope in the shape of a hangman's noose, at the end of which dangled a long spike. In their next battle the Flemings fought so gallantly and well the noose and spike became a mark of distinction and honor. The French Fourragere is a decoration instituted by Napoleon I for units which distinguished themselves in battle. It was revived during World War I and was awarded by the French Ministry of War to organizations which were cited more than once in the French Orders of the Army. The three classes of the Fourragere are as follows: First -- Legion d'Honneur - Scarlet; Second -- Medaille Militare - Yellow and Red; Third -- Croix de Guerre (with palm) - Green and Red. In 1918, Marines of the Fifth and Sixth Regiments, by their heroic deeds of valor, inscribed the names of momentous and brilliant battles on the pages of Marine Corps history, as well as on their own regimental battle colors. They have the single honor of being the only two regiments in the American Expeditionary Force to receive three citations -- two in the orders of the army and one in the orders of the corps -- the Fourragere and the croix de Guerre with two Palms and one Gilt Star.

The Fourragère was instituted by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, but actually has prior historic significance: after a hasty retreat from battle by a unit of Flemish troops, the Duke of Alva ordered that any further misconduct in that unit be punished by hanging, regardless of rank. Those Flemish troops then wore a cord tied into a hangman's noose on their shoulder going into their next battle, and fought so valiantly that the cord became a mark of distinction.

The fourragère is awarded to all members of military unit which, as a whole, was awarded a mention in dispatches. It should not be confused with unit awards of particular decorations, where the medal itself is hung on the flag of the unit. For example, there are many units wearing the fourragère of the médaille militaire, whereas only six units wore the medal on their flags.

During the First World War, the French Ministry of War awarded the Fourragère to units which distinguished themselves more than once in the orders of the Army. There were then six fourragères, depending on the numbers of mentions in Dispatches awarded to the unit:

two or three mentions : fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la croix de guerre (fourragère in the colours of the ribbon of the War Cross) - green and red for the Croix of WWI and WWII, and light blue and red for the Croix de Guerre Théâtres d'Opérations Extérieurs (Overseas War Cross).
 fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la médaille militairefour or five mentions : fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la médaille militaire (fourragère in the colours of the ribbon of the Military Medal) - yellow and green
six, seven or eight mentions : fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la légion d'honneur (fourragère in the colours of the ribbon of the Legion of Honour) - bright red
nine, ten or eleven mentions : fourragère aux couleurs des rubans de la croix de guerre et de la légion d'honneur (fourragère in the colours of the ribbons of the War Cross and the Legion of Honour)
twelve, thirteen or fourteen mentions : fourragère aux couleurs des rubans de la médaille militaire et de la légion d'honneur (fourragère in the colours of the ribbons of the Military Medal and the Legion of Honour)
fifteen mentions and above : fourragère double aux couleurs du ruban de la légion d'honneur (double fourragère in the colours of the ribbon of the Legion of Honour)
In addition, further distinction awards to units wearing fourragères may be worn as barrel-shaped slides on the fourragère cords, resting on the decorative metal finial tip. These olives indicate the war in which the unit were mentioned : for WWII the olive is green and red, and for an overseas conflict the olive is light blue and red. Some units wear two half-olives because they were mentioned in many conflicts.

During the Second World War, the medal of the Ordre de la Libération was awarded to the flags of 17 military units, whose members now wear a fourragère since June 18, 1996. This fourragère is considered the top unit award in the French military, as the ordre de la Libération award is seen to be more important than any mention in Dispatches.

Certain French military units wear combinations of fourragères. Fourragères used by the French Foreign Legion are:

2e REI (2nd Foreign Legion Infantry) - Croix de Guerre TOE
2e REP (2nd Foreign Legion Paratroops) - Légion d'Honneur
1er REC (1st Foreign Legion Cavalry - Croix de Guerre (WW2); Médaille Militaire
3e REI (3rd Foreign Legion Infantry)- Légion d'Honneur, Médaille Militaire, Croix de Guerre

 Units awarded the fourragère
During WWI, the 5th S.S.U. was awarded the fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la médaille militaire.

During WWII, the 16th, 18th and 26th infantry regiments U.S., the 5th and 7th field artillery battalions U.S., the 1st engineers battalion U.S. and the 1st signal company U.S. were awarded the fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la médaille militaire.

17 French military units wear the fourragère of the Ordre de la Libération (see article for the list).

The 5th Marine Regiment and the 6th Marine Regiment of the United States Marine Corps were awarded the Fourragère for having earned the Croix de Guerre with palm leaf twice during World War I.

U.S. 370th Infantry Regiment (World War I) [1]
BEF Units of World War I[2]

Active members of the National Society of Pershing Rifles are authorized to wear the fourragère of the Society, which is distinct in being one of only two fourragères with an organization-specific metal tip (the other being the Air Force Honor Guard). (Reference: Vanguard Industries, Inc. [3])

Active members of Arnold Air Society in uniform wear the blue and gold fourragère of the society. (Reference: Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 20th edition p. VII-17)

82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions

Both the 82nd ABN DIV and the 101st ABN DIV were awarded the French Fourragere of the Croix de Guerre during the battle of Normandy in June 1944.

Some of the units in WW II told the British ladies to stay away from the guys with the shoulder loops because they had VD!  That story carried on with the 5th & 6th Marines and it's always good for a laugh.

                  

Ein bier, bitte.

Yeah, Cpl at 19, Sgt at 20, civilian at 21.  But Pappy, you had the will, courage, and fortitude to contnue on.

All the way, sir!!!

What'd I tell ya.

 

The hippo is unpredictable and aggressive with old scars and fresh, deep wounds providing signs of daily fights that are accompanied by much bellowing, neighing and snorting.

He has the French and Belgian Fourrageres, the Orange Rope and a Presidential Unit Citation.

In 1958 he was in the 101st and I believe some sort of attachment was added to Presidential Unit Citation because he was already authorized to wear it as were all troopers assigned to  the 101st. I'm not sure so please correct me if I'm wrong and/or let me know what the attachment is.

Examining his fruit salad, I found two ribbons which I could not identify. I believe one is the Croix de Guerre and that they both relate to the Fourregeres. Again please correct me if I'm wrong.

Dad always claimed/complained that a General got a medal if he got the GIs.

AIRBORNE!