Order of Lafayette

The Order's patron is the Marquis de Lafayette, the French officer who was commissioned a general in the Continental Army, and who served with George Washington during the American Revolution.

A serving officer of the famed 369th Regiment (The Harlem Hellfighters), New York Army National Guard, Colonel Fish founded the Order of Lafayette as a society to give recognition to all commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces, male or female, who served in France during World War I, or in France or French possessions during World War II.

The Order participates in a number of patriotic activities, such as the annual Armistice Day Memorial Mass at Saint Vincent de Paul's R.C.

Church held each November in New York City; the graduation convocation of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where the Order of Lafayette Award is given to a distinguished graduate; social and cultural gatherings to promote and improve Franco-American relations; the annual "Massing of the Colors" ceremony each autumn, and other events.

The medal, made by Arthus Bertrand of Paris, is a white cross pattée with a profile of Lafayette in its center, surrounded by laurel leaves.