Fourragere of the Fifth

The French Government awarded decorations for especially meritorious conduct in actions during World War I to 156 American units varying in size from a section to a brigade. The decorations included 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 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 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 be redeem themselves in the good graces of their commander, wore coiled around one shoulder—as a reminder of their disgrace—a rope in a hangman’s noose, at the end of the which dangled a long spike. In their next battle, the Flemish fought so gallantly that the noose and spike became a mark of distinction and honor. The French Fourragere is a decoration instituted by Napoleon I for units that distinguished themselves in battle. It was revised in World War I and awarded by the French Ministry of War to organizations cited more than once in the French Orders of the Army. The three classes of the Fourragere are:

• First Legion d’Honneur Scarlet
• Second Medialle Militare Yellow and Red
• Third Croix de Guerre (with palm) Green and Red

In 1918, Marines of the Fifth and Sixth Regiments, for 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 battle colors. They have the single honor of being the only Regiments in the American Expeditionary Force to receive three citations—two in the order of the army and one in the order of the corps—Fourragere and Croix de Guerre with two Palms and Gilt Star.