The green beret was originally designated in 1953 by Special Forces Major Herbert Brucker, a veteran of the OSS. Later that year, 1st Lt. Roger Pezelle adopted it as the unofficial head-gear for his A-team, Operational Detachment FA-32. They wore it whenever they went to the field for prolonged exercises. Soon it spread throughout all of Special Forces, although the Army refused to authorize its official use.

 Finally, in 1961, President Kennedy planned to visit Fort Bragg. He sent word to the Special Warfare Center commander, Brigadier General William P. Yarborough, for all Special Forces soldiers to wear their berets for the event. President Kennedy felt that since they had a special mission, Special Forces should have something to set them apart from the rest. Even before the presidential request, however, the Department of Army had acquiesced and teletyped a message to the Center authorizing the beret as a part of the Special Forces uniform.

 When President Kennedy came to Fort Bragg October 12, 1961, General Yarborough wore his green beret to greet the Commander-in-Chief. The president remarked, "Those are nice. How do you like the green beret?" General Yarborough replied: "They're fine, sir. We've wanted them a long time."

 A message from President Kennedy to General Yarborough later that day stated, "My congratulations to you personally for your part in the presentation today ... The challenge of this old but new form of operations is a real one and I know that you and the members of your command will carry on for us and the free world in a manner which is both worthy and inspiring. I am sure that the green beret will be a mark of distinction in the trying times ahead."

 In an April 11, 1962, White House memorandum for the United States Army, President Kennedy showed his continued support for the Special Forces, calling the green beret... "a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom."
 
 

FM PRESUS THE WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
         TO CG FT BRAGG
         DA GRNC
         BT
         UNCLAS CITE WH670-61 FOR BRIGADIER GENERAL WILLIAM P.
         YARBOROUGH, COMMANDING GENERAL U.S. ARMY SPECIAL
         WARFARE CENTER FORT BRAGG, N.C.
                 MY CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU PERSONALLY FOR YOUR
         PART IN THE PRESENTATION TODAY AT FORT BRAGG, AND
         ESPECIALLY FOR THE IMAGINATION AS WELL AS THE PRECISION
         WHICH YOUR DIRECTION GAVE TO A DIFFICULT SUBJECT.  I CAME
         AWAY WITH A NEW APPRECIATION OF YOUR MISSION AND
         ENTHUSIASM FOR ITS PERFORMANCE.  I KNOW THAT YOU AND
         YOUR MEN NOT ONLY SERVE AS GOOD INSTRUCTORS, BUT AS AN
         INSPIRATION TO THE ALLIED OFFICERS WHO ATTEND YOUR
         SCHOOL.  PLEASE CONVEY MY CONGRATULATIONS AND MY
         APPRECIATION TO ALL OF THE MEN WHO TOOK PART.  THE
         CHALLENGE OF THIS OLD BUT NEW FORM OF OPERATIONS IS A
         REAL ONE AND I KNOW THAT YOU AND THE MEMBERS OF YOUR
         COMMAND WILL CARRY ON FOR US AND THE FREE WORLD IN A
         MANNER WHICH IS BOTH WORTHY AND INSPIRING.  I AM SURE
         THAT THE GREEN BERET WILL BE A MARK OF DISTINCTION IN THE
         TRYING TIMES AHEAD.
         JOHN F. KENNEDY
         BT
         CFN WH670-61
         13/0259Z RUEPWW
 

HOW THE PARACHUTE BADGE WAS DEVELOPED

[This letter is a reproduction of a letter which Gen Yarborough sent to the
Static Line newspaper in 1977 clarifying how the Parachute Badge was
developed. It was Gen Yarborough that was responsible for the design and the
development of the original wings, and these are the true facts as he has
carefully enumerated them. Keep a copy of this letter where you can refer to
it at some future time when you may be caught in a discussion questioning the
origin and production of the Parachute Wings.]

By Gen William Yarborough

To begin with, the parachutist qualification badge was not developed in order
to "identify the members of this unique organization", it was to signify
qualification in the art of military parachuting. The device which identified
the 501st Parachute Battalion was an Ojibway Thunderbird on a silver shield
with the motto "GERONIMO." I designed that distinctive insigne. Its history
is filled with the heraldry element of DSCPers in the Pentagon. I had hoped
that every parachute unit of the American Army might have an American Indian
thunderbird of different design as the basis for its distinctive insigne and
toward that end, I had done considerable research which had brought to light
dozens of colorful Thunderbird designs-all appropriate, I thought, to
American Heraldry and traditions.

As to the parachute wings it is incorrect to state that "The Chief of
Infantry suggested a design on a light blue background similar in appearance
to the badge of the Air Corps pilots." The one most firm requirement placed
by the Army on any design of a parachute qualification badge was that it IN
NO WAY resemble the pilots wings of the Air Corps.

The Parachute Qualification Badge as we know it came into being as a result
of LTC WILLIAM M. MILEY'S initiative. As Commander of the 501st Parachute
Battalion, he ordered me to Washington in early 1941, telling me not to come
back to Ft. Benning until I had an approved qualification badge in my hands.
He had (quite properly) rejected several badge concepts supplied by the
Heraldry Branch of G-1. They were both unimaginative, and in our view, even
"recessive." One consisted of a deployed parachute around which wings were
folded in almost funeral attitude.

Arriving at the War Department, I set to work to produce a design which
fitted the parameters supplied by the bureaucrats.

After at least 50 tries, I came up with the design we now have. It seemed to
me that the suggestion that the wing tips were supporting the chute canopy
was symbolic of the powered flight which always preceded the paradrop.
Furthermore, the prohibition against extended wings of any kind (imposed by
the Heraldry Branch) had to be accepted.

I walked the approved design in and out of every office which had a piece of
the action in the War Department. I would wait doggedly until each action
type got to it in his "In" basket, then take it to the next one. When a
contract was finally let with Bailey Banks and Biddle of Philadelphia, I
camped on their doorstep until I was able to walk away with 350 Sterling
Wings. These I carried triumphantly back to Col Miley at Benning. All of
these first wings bear BB&B on the back, and they are collector's items.

Feeling that the wings needed a little color and that perhaps they were on
the small side, I designed the first felt backgrounds. For the 501st, the
background was Infantry Blue with Artillery red superimposed so as to leave a
narrow blue border.

I took the patent out on these wings in order to protect the design from
wrongful exploitation, and to keep the quality high. I never obtained a
single penny from sale of the wings, nor from any commercial use - this was
not my objective.

LTG WILLIAM P. YARBOROUGH
U.S.A. (Ret)
160 Hillside Road
Southern Pines, NC 28387