Reference the French Fourragère.
It is worn as a unit award by personnel assigned to the unit it was awarded to and removed when no longer assigned (unless you were in the unit when it participated in the action for which it was awarded - not when it was awarded).
The Fourragère is a French military award, distinguishing military units as a whole.
History
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
US 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.
*T he 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)
* 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 |
Many 'low points' personnel not eligable for demobilization yet assgned to the demobilized Airborne Divisions (13th, 17th, and 101st ABN Divisions) in 1945 were reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division prior to their individual demobilization as the 82nd ABN was the only airbone diivison remaining in the ETO. Most of the 82nd ABN soldiers in the Victory Parade did not serve in the 82nd ABN during their service in Europe, as the 'old hands' had already demobilized.
Therefore many 13th and 17th ABN veterans recieved Fourragères while assigned to the 82nd Abn, but were not entitled to wear them after as permanent awards. ETA: the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was at Normandy assigned to the 82nd, received the French Fourragère.
Next, the Belgian Fourragère and the Dutch Orange Lanyard.
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