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Military Order of the World Wars


KevinBeyer
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Hello, All,

 

Established in 1919 to promote the welfare of our nation, the Military Order of the World Wars is an organization that is still in existance today. Prominent members of the MOWW were Gen. Pershing, Gen. MacArthur, Gen. Marshall, Pres. Truman, Gen. Westmoreland, and Pres. Reagan.

 

Below is a Past Chapter Commander Neck Ribbon as denoted by the gold palms.

 

 

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Note that the ribbon color is the reverse repeating rainbow of the World War I Victory medal.

 

Kevin

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I know that they sponser a medal for AFJROTC, as 2 of my friends have recieved it. The Medal and Ribbon both have the rainbow material that the above picture is made of.

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Holloman said:
I know that they sponser a medal for AFJROTC, as 2 of my friends have recieved it. The Medal and Ribbon both have the rainbow material that the above picture is made of.

 

From the MOWW website, this is the JROTC award for merit:

 

MOWW_JrROTC.jpg

 

I do not have any other MOWW medals in my collection. But, if I were to come across any, I would most likely pick them up.

 

Kevin

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  • 11 months later...

This was a garage sale find from a few years ago. This was from the estate of BG Albert Franklin. IIRC, he was a chapter commander in Florida.

 

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Did not know the significance of the gold palms on officers neck ribbons until this posting. Thank you.

 

Have not seen many of this groups badges, but note that prior to WWII they were the Military Order of the World War. After WWII they add the letter 'S' to war; a title they use currently.

 

The attached photo of early member's badges was breast style and appear to have serial numbers for a while. Note also that these badge have a bar suspension on the badge while the current officers badge has a ring suspension. Does anyone have a current member's badge to illustrate attachment to the ribbon?

 

Have only found one other type of MOWW badge, a Patrick Henry Patriotic Award in miniature. Assume there must be other awards.

 

Frederick

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In regards to the palms, this information comes from an official history book of the Military Order of the World War:

DISTINGUISHING OF NATIONAL OFFICERS

In the January-February-March 1922 National Bulletin, it was prescribed that National Officers and officials of Chapters and Departments would be distinguished by the number of silver palms worn on the neck ribbon as follows:

 

Commander-in-Chief 4 palms

Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief 3 palms

Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief 3 palms

Remaining members of General Staff and other National Officers 2 palms

Department Vice Commanders 1 palm

Chapter Commanders 1 palm

 

It further provided that at the expiration of his term of office, a former official will wear gold palms instead of silver palms. This designation lasted through 1950.

 

A new Article VI was added to the Bylaws of the Military Order at the 1927 National Convention which to a large extent confirmed the initial administrative decision in regard to the number of palms worn by National Officers, except that Junior Vice Commanders-in-Chief were allotted two palms and Vice Commanders-in-Chief three palms. This decision lasted through 1950.

 

It was not until the 1950s that there arose pressure to specially distinguish the State Commanders from Chapter Commanders, by authorizing State Commanders to wear two palms. Since State Commanders were not members of the General Staff, there arose a necessity to specifically recognize the General Staff with three palms and to add one palm to the ribbon of the Vice Commander-in-Chief and the Commander in Chief.

 

The prized insignia is worn by all National Officers and former National Officers at all meetings of the Order.

Kevin

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have just added a reunion badge for the Military Order of the World Wars to my collection. I knew neither that they had reunions, nor that they made badge for them. This one is from the 1969 annual convention held in Savannah, Ga. The thin plate (tin?) pendant reads "Military Order of the World Wars/ 1919 - 1969/Golden Anniversary". I don't plan on starting a MOWW reunion badge collection, but adding their Golden Anniversary reunion badge seems fitting.

 

MOWW1969Savannah.jpg MOWW1969SavannahClose.jpg

 

Does anyone else have, or know of, reunion badges such as this? As I said, I've never seen them before.

 

Kevin

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  • 2 years later...

From its inception on January 27th, 1919, until October 28, 1942, this organization was known as the Military Order of the World War (not plural) as previously indicated by USMF member frederick. To my knowledge there are no distinguishing features of these early membership badges to denote their years of production. As with other examples that I have seen, they are made by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

 

As previously mentioned, the number and color of palms on the ribbon denote the rank of the MOWW member. The following example is that of a Senior or Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief. I have not determined the meaning for the addition of an "E" as well as two succeeding stars.

 

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Kevin

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I just did a little homework and I discovered what the additional accouterments denote:

 

Letter D--Dept. Commander

Letter E--Emeritus

Letter R--Region Commander

Letter S--National. General Staff

(for all of the above, two are required for wear with the Neck Ribbon)

 

To signify the length of membership in MOWW, an Hour Glass device may be placed on the ribbon. A Bronze device for 10 years, Silver for 15 years, and Gold for 20 or more years. To show Perpetual Membership in MOWW, a Silver star may also be placed on the ribbon above the hour glass device. Only one star and one hour glass may be displayed on the membership ribbon.

 

Kevin

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  • 2 years later...

This is a very old thread but I wanted to add to it and ask, what were the differences between the neck and breast awards?

 

As this one is of the first variety with singular "World War" and numbered, is there a way to trace recipients?

 

Thanks,

 

Tim

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I used to see these medals a lot awhile back.Never thought much of them because they were not the Victory Medal's just a society medal.Seems like, at least to me, that they are getting harder to find.Are they that collectible and are they worth much? They are nice looking.

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On 12/22/2012 at 8:29 AM, firefighter said:

I used to see these medals a lot awhile back.Never thought much of them because they were not the Victory Medal's just a society medal.Seems like, at least to me, that they are getting harder to find.Are they that collectible and are they worth much? They are nice looking.

 

Hi firefighter,

 

Like you, I never really paid much attention to them as I usually stick to the officially issued military decorations and medals. They certainly are nice looking and I'm curious about who were issued the medals and if their were any specific requirements other than basic membership.

 

Sad that even a vintage veterans medal has more quality in it compared to something made for official issue these days.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Tim

 

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I just read through the MOWW Policy Manual ( http://www.militaryorder.net/PDFs/Updated%20PDFs/pdf13--Policy%20Manual.13--29%20May%202012.pdf ) and could not find any reference to the use of the neck badge versus the breast badge. I would speculate that the neck badge represented a member who was currently serving as an officer of the organization, whereas the breast badge represented membership. Based on insignia provided by the organization, it does not appear that the breast badge is an item currently employed by the MOWW. It is my guess that they no longer use it.

 

Kevin

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Kevin,

 

Thanks for that link. I browsed a few of the official sites but did not really find any worthwhile information on the actual medal. My initial assessment was along the same lines as yours.

 

I do read in the policy manual where is discusses the wear of the medal under "Hearaldry & The Wear of Items" (pg's 17-19) and briefly mentions a MOWW Membership lapel pin and medal (para 2 e), that is worn on the left breast. It doesn't go into specific details or show any illustrations of it.

 

Additionally, Chapter 10, para E, "Individual Awards & Citations" does list a MOWW Membership Medal (7.) (pg 90) but again, does not show any illustration. The written description does appear to describe what I would assume to be the current version of the vintage medal I have.

 

Thanks again!

 

Tim

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  • 7 years later...
KevinBeyer

This MOWW membership badge is newly acquired by me.  It is the first one I have ever seen with palms on the short ribbon version.  Does this denote a current (silver) Sr. or Jr. Vice Commander-In-Chief?

If anyone has any insight, I would be glad to learn more.

Kevin

MOWW_obverse.jpg

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Good morning Kevin, 

That is a beautiful medal, I have attached below the information on the devices worn on the membership medal from the 2019 MOWW Policy Manual. Assuming nothing has changed over time it looks like that would be a Regional Commander or General Staff Member. It is a shame that the order has stopped wearing/making/issuing  the full size chest version of this medal. The current manual only refers to the miniature for Veteran or Hereditary Companions. 

 

Table 7.1 | MOWW INSIGNIA OF OFFICE & THE MOWW MEMBERSHIP MEDAL

MOWW Commander-in-Chief (CINC) • The incumbent CINC wears the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) and five (5) silver palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon • Past CINCs wear the Past Cast CINC Pin and five (5) gold palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon

MOWW Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief (SVCINC), MOWW Vice Commanders-in-Chief (VCINC) & Chief of Staff (CS) • The incumbent SVCINC, VCINCs and CS wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized)four (4) silver palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon • Past SVCINCs, VCINCs and CSs wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) four (4) gold palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon unless otherwise authorized to wear more gold palms due to another position previously held

Region Commanders • Incumbent region commanders wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) and three (3) silver palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon • Past region commanders wear the Past Commander Pin and three (3) gold palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon unless otherwise authorized to wear more gold palms due to another position previously held  

General Staff Members • Members of the General Staff wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) and three (3) silver palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon unless otherwise authorized to wear more silver palms due to higher position currently held • Past members of the General Staff wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) and three (3) gold palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon unless otherwise authorized to wear more gold palms due to higher position previously held

Department Commanders • Incumbent department commanders wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) and two (2) silver palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon • Past department commanders wear the Past Commander Pin and two (2) gold palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon unless otherwise authorized to wear more gold palms due to another position previously held  

Chapter Commanders • Incumbent chapter commanders wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) one (1) silver palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon • Past chapter commanders wear the Past Commander Pin and one (1) gold palm devices on each side of the neck ribbon unless otherwise authorized to wear more gold palms due to another position previously held  

Standing MOWW Committee Chairs • Incumbent chairs wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) and one (1) silver palm device on each side of the neck ribbon unless otherwise authorized to wear more silver palms due to another position current held • Past chairs wear the Past Commander Pin (if authorized) and one (1) gold palm device on each side of the neck ribbon unless otherwise authorized to wear more silver palms due to another position currently held 

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"assuming" well that's what I get, as soon as I hit submit I scrolled up and saw your earlier post about the palms from the 1920's... SMDH

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  • 1 year later...

I have recently found this Military Order of the World War miniature medal.  I have sometimes seen them on a miniature ribbon rack, but I had not yet come across one as a single.  A knowledgeable collector friend has informed me that this was made by Bailey, Banks, and Biddle.  As the name implies, it is a pre-1941 manufacture.  The detail is fantastic and the enameling on both sides is a nice feature.

 

 

MOWW_miniature.jpg.6da713a02cf4ff20072ac27e6e151ca5.jpg

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