Purple Heart medal issued to Cpl. Lawrence Leslie McVey
date: label: Date
content: 1932-1940
name: label: Issued by
content: United States Army, American, founded 1775
label: Received by
content: Cpl. Lawrence Leslie McVey, Sr., American, 1897 - 1968
label: Subject of
content: 369th Infantry Regiment, American, 1913 - 1945
notes: label: Caption
content: Due to racial tension within the US Army, the 369th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the French Army for the duration of US involvement in World War I. Formed from the 15th New York National Guard Regiment and nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters," the 369th was the first African American regiment to reach the battlefields of World War I and the first Allied troops to reach the banks of the Rhine. Upon completion of the 369th’s service in the war, the regiment had spent 191 days in combat, the longest of any American regiment. In appreciation for their actions in the Maison-en-Champagne campaign, the 369th was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government for acts of bravery in conflicts against the enemy. In addition to this honor, 171 individual members of the 369th Regiment were awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. The 369th Regiment finished their service in Europe and returned to the US in February 1919.
label: Description
content: The Purple Heart issued for Corporal Lawrence Leslie McVey features a gold heart with an image of George Washington on a ribbon. The ribbon is purple with white edges. The ribbon is connected to a gold pinback through an opening on top of the pin. The bottom of the pin is sewn with white thread to the ribbon. The medal hangs from its ribbon by a rectangular metal loop with rounded corners. The heart is gold plated with a purple interior heart containing a profile of General George Washington. Above the heart is the shield of George Washington's coat of arms; a white shield with two red bars and three red stars above, between branches of green leaves. The back of the medal has a raised relief heart with the words, [FOR / MILITARY / MERIT / LAWRENCE McVEY] below the raised relief coat of arms and leaves. The medal is very worn and has scratches and areas of loss throughout.
place: label: Place made
content: United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: World War I
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Awards, Medals, and Insignia
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gina R. McVey, Granddaughter
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2011.108.7
objectType: label: Type
content: medals
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: gold and enamel on metal with silk (textile)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 3 1/8 × 1 1/2 × 1/4 in. (7.9 × 3.8 × 0.6 cm)