Military Order of World War in USA awarded to gen

The Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) is an American social organization of military officers of the United States and their descendants. It was created in 1919 as the Military Order of the World War at the suggestion of

General of the Armies General of the Armies of the United States, more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest military rank in the United States. The rank has been conferred three times: to John J. Pershing in 1919, as a personal accolade fo ...

John J. Pershing as a fraternity for American military officers coming out of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Two decades later, when the United States became involved in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the conflict reference was pluralized to its current title of Military Order of the World Wars. Though the society's title has not been changed since 1945, it accepts additional members from other conflicts and non-conflict service, including those in current military service, retired military service, and former military service. It also accepts members who are lineal descendants from a qualifying officer and family members within two degrees of consanguinity as hereditary members.

Overview and history

The MOWW is a 501(c)19 non-profit organization with a

congressional charter A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress has issued corporate charters since 1791 and the laws that issue them are codified in Title 36 of the ...

. At its founding, the MOWW chose Major General George Herbert Harries as commander, and he served through 1925. Membership in the MOWW is open to active duty, retired and former federally commissioned, warrant or flight officers, and senior enlisted ( E-7 and higher) members of the uniformed services of the United States. This includes the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

(USA),

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

(USN), US Marine Corps (USMC),

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF), US Coast Guard (USCG), US Space Force (USSF),

US National Guard The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the U.S. military's reserve components of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force when activated for federal missions.US Military Reserves,

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

(USPHS), and the

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploration ...

(NOAA). Additionally, any direct lineal descendant and family members within two degrees of consanguinity (i.e., spouse, son/step-son, daughter/step-daughter, grandson/granddaughter) from a qualifying officer may also join the order as a hereditary member; and thus the order also serves as a genealogical society.

Centennial anniversary and projects in 2019

In 2019 the Order celebrated its 100th birthday at its annual convention held in Simi Valley, California. Recent projects in 2019 included the design, purchase, and placement of a $100k Augusta-CSRA Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, in Augusta, Georgia, by the Augusta Chapter of Region V, MOWW, earning Chapter leaders a Gold

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

Award and National Citation.

Awards and insignia

*Gold

Award – awarded by the national chapter annually to nine companions of the Order for exceptional achievement. *Silver Patrick Henry Award – awarded by local chapters to companions for superior service, lifesaving, and more. Can also be awarded to non-companions for service to the Order. *Bronze Patrick Henry Award – awarded by local chapters to exceptional youth for patriotic achievement. *Outstanding Service Medal – awarded by local chapters for holding a key leadership role in the Order for at least three years. *Outreach Service Medal – awarded by local chapters for exceptional participation in the various MOWW outreach programs (e.g. Eagle Scout recognition, Gold Award recognition,

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

JROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US mil ...

recognition, law enforcement recognition, et cetera). *Youth Merit Medal – awarded by local chapters and individual companions to youth for achievement. *Membership Medal – worn by companions as the badge of the Order, which consists of the emblem suspended from a mini rainbow ribbon of reversed colors from the WWI Victory Medal. Multiple awards of the decorations are denoted by mini-medal sized bronze oak leaf clusters. On the membership medal, perpetual (life) membership is denoted by a silver

service star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

Awards presented to people in other organizations

Awards presented by the MOWW include: * JROTC Award of Merit – presented to the best first year, second year, and third year cadet in a JROTC battalion each class year. Multiple awards denoted by silver service stars. * ROTC Award of Merit – presented to the best first year (bronze), second year (silver), and third year (gold) cadet in a ROTC battalion each class year. As there is a different ribbon for each ROTC program year, multiple awards to the same cadet are not possible (though a single exceptional cadet could earn the different awards). * Eagle Scout Certificate – presented to members of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

who have earned the Eagle Scout rank. * Summit Certificate – presented to members of the Boy Scouts of America who have earned the Venturing Summit rank. * Quartermaster Certificate – presented to members of the Boy Scouts of America who have earned the Sea Scout Quartermaster rank. * Gold Award Certificate – presented to members of the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she ...

who have earned the Gold Award.

Related organizations

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

, for officers of the War of the Revolution and or one male descendant representing each such officer (est. 1783) *

Aztec Club of 1847 The Aztec Club of 1847 is a military society founded in 1847 by United States Army officers of the Mexican–American War. It is a male-only hereditary organization with membership of those who can trace a direct ancestral connection "based on ma ...

, for officers of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and their male descendants (invitation-only, est. 1847) *

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

, for Union officers of the Civil War and their male descendants based on male descent (est. 1865) *

Military Order of the Stars and Bars A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, for Confederate officers of the Civil War and their male descendants (est. 1936) * Military Order of Foreign Wars, for officers of any foreign war and their descendants (excluding those who are only officers of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

, est. 1894) * Order of the Indian Wars of the United States, for officers of the Indian Wars and their male descendants (invitation-only, est. 1896) The six organizations listed above, like the MOWW, include male direct lineal descendants of qualifying officers of their respective war(s), although two of them accept members by invitation only. At least one (the

) limits its membership to one person representing each qualifying officer. Only the MOWW does not require the officer to have been a veteran during a combat conflict. Among these, only the MOWW and Military Order of Foreign Wars accept women as members. Former related organizations with veteran-only membership include: *

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

, for Union officers of the Civil War, dissolved in 1956 * United Confederate Veterans, for Confederate officers of the Civil War, dissolved in 1951

References

External links

*
List of MOWW politicians
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Order Of The World Wars 1919 establishments in Washington, D.C. 501(c)(19) nonprofit organizations Advocacy groups in the United States Fraternal orders Lineage societies Aftermath of World War I in the United States Nonpartisan organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1919 Patriotic and national organizations chartered by the United States Congress Service organizations based in the United States United States military support organizations