August 7
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On August 7, 1782, in Newburgh, New York, General George Washington, the commander in chief of the Continental Army, creates the “Badge for Military Merit,” a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk, edged with a narrow binding of silver, with the word Merit stitched across the face in silver. It would come to be widely known as the Purple Heart.
The badge was to be presented to soldiers for “any singularly meritorious action” and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge. The honoree’s name and regiment were also to be inscribed in a “Book of Merit.”
On August 7, 1953, with the Cold War in full force, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the Refugee Relief Act (RRA) of 1953, providing U.S. visas primarily for refugees and escapees from communist countries. Replacing the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, which had expired the year before, the RRA allowed the United States to legally admit 214,000 immigrants through its borders, including many still displaced by World War II.
“In enacting this legislation, we are giving a new chance in life to 214,000 fellow humans,” Eisenhower announced after signing the bill. “This action demonstrates again America’s traditional concern for the homeless, the persecuted and the less fortunate of other lands.”
On August 7, 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush orders the organization of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2. The order prepared American troops to become part of an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. To support Operation Desert Shield, Bush authorized a dramatic increase in U.S. troops and resources in the Persian Gulf.