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Ernie being awarded the Belgian Fourragere in 1945 by a Ninth Air Force colonel. The Belgian fourragére is awarded by the Belgian Government when a unit was cited twice in the order of the day and there is a specific award decree of the Belgian Government. It is awarded to a unit, but is then permanently worn by individuals who were members of the unit at the time of the award. The award has an ironic history: after a hasty retreat from battle by a unit of Flemish troops, the Duke of Alva ordered that any further misconduct in that unit be punished by hanging, regardless of rank. Those Flemish troops then wore a cord tied into a hangman's noose on their shoulder going into their next battle, and fought so valiantly that the cord became a mark of distinction. There is an associated ribbon that may also be worn has the same colors as the Belgian Croix de Guerre: Red with two groups of three vertical green stripes towards either edge. |
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