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Never Forget Cockade

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Never Forget Cockade

The wearing of a signature cockade was first documented in 1709. In the 18th and 19th centuries, cockades were worn in Europe to show allegiance to a nation or an army, and as an effective means of identification of a group or cause. The cockade came to America during the American Revolution, when General George Washington initiated the wearing of cockades of differing colors to identify rank and to distinguish officers from the enlisted men, as the Continental Army had differing uniforms. The Continental army later began to wear the black cockade; and when France joined the Americans in their fight for independence, the French white cockade was respectfully pinned over the black. French soldiers reciprocated by pinning the Continental Army’s black cockade over their white, signifying the beginning of America’s longstanding alliance with France.

Early in the planning for the commemoration of the Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, one of the proposals was the wearing of a cockade as a symbol of remembrance. That idea got lost for a few years as the development of remembrance ceremonies and Never Forget Gardens became a major focus. Still, beyond the Centennial, Never Forget Gardens are continuing to flourish – and bloom. Still, new Never Forget Gardens are being created across the nation, bringing together a community of patriots who are dedicated to honoring and remembering all who have given their lives in defense of our freedoms.

A cockade is a knot of ribbons, artfully crafted to be worn on a hat (originally) or a lapel (today). They are designed in the symbolic and meaningful colors of the wearer. It was immediately determined that our Never Forget cockade must be white in reverence to the bouquet of white roses that designated the unidentified fallen soldier who would be America’s Unknown Soldier of World War I. That gathering of white roses accompanied our soldier from the town hall in Challons sur Marne where the selection ceremony took place, by train to the port of Le Havre, aboard the USS Olympia across the storm-ridden Atlantic Ocean, to lay in state in the Rotunda of the US Capitol, and to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery.

Our Never Forget cockade, designed by Marilyn Wellan and crafted by Heather Sheen of Creative Cockades, is three inches in diameter. The center of the cockade carries a reverential image of a white rose bloom, surrounded by thin lines of the colors of the American flag, red, white and blue. The immortal words Never Forget are inscribed across the face of the rose. The central message is circled by a lovely white filigree embellishment; and finally, the white ribbon of the cockade represents the white petals of the symbol of the Never Forget Project, the white rose.

Our decorous white cockade whispers the words we forever hold in our hearts, “we will Never Forget”.

Each cockade is handcrafted and made in the United States. They measure 3'' in diameter.