PREAMBLE TO THE MOWW CONSTITUTION

• To cherish the memories and associations of the World Wars waged for humanity;
• To inculcate and stimulate love of our country and flag;
• To promote and further patriotic education in our nation;
• Ever to maintain law and order, and to defend the honor, integrity, and supremacy of our national government and the Constitution of the United States;
• To foster fraternal relations among all branches of the armed forces;
• To promote the cultivation of military, naval, and air science and the adoption of a consistent and suitable policy of national security for the United States of America;
• To acquire and preserve records of individual services;
• To encourage and assist in the holding of commemorations and the establishment of memorials of the World Wars; and
• To transmit all these ideals to posterity; under God and for our country, we unite to establish… the Military Order of the World Wars.”

RESOLUTIONS OF COOPERATION

The Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) uses Resolutions of Cooperation to formalize partnerships with like-minded organizations, e.g., the National Sojourners, Joe Foss Institute, Boy Scouts of America, Pershing Rifles Group. 

These resolutions support a range of collaborative activities–from youth education to recognition of excellence. These resolutions and memoranda correspond with the  Order’s outreach programs in Youth Leadership Conferences, scouting, Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and Junior JROTC, and more.  They also involve MOWW’s recognition programs involving scouts, students, cadets, and individuals and organizations from the local communities.

ORIGINS OF THE ORDER

MOWW is a patriotic Veterans Service Organization (VSO) founded in 1919 by officers who served under General of the Armies John J. “Blackjack” Pershing. The purpose of the Order is to promote patriotism,

civic responsibility, public service and leadership in the nation’s communities.

The Order’s name was originally named “American Officers of the Great War.” Its name was later changed to “The Military Order of the World War,” and still later changed to “The Military Order of the World Wars.” It was incorporated by an Act of Congress on 27 January 1919. The Order was intended to be the successor to the “Society of the Cincinnati” for General George Washington's officers of the Continental Army and “The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of Federal Officers” who served during the American Civil War.

The Order originated “Army Day.” Upon the re-designation of service days as Armed Forces Day, the Order was the first large patriotic organization to endorse that change. The Order was instrumental, through its Past Commander-in-Chief, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, in reviving the long-dormant award of the Purple Heart Medal in 1932.