At the end of his show today, Glenn Beck stated that “in the coming weeks, you're going to learn about this,” then went to close-up shot of his lapel, upon which was the George Washington Badge of Merit (aka the Badge of Military Merit), the precursor to today's Purple Heart.

Given that the Badge of Military Merit was awarded only during the Revolutionary War, we can safely say that Beck did not earn that badge. And military veterans generally take a dim view of people wearing military awards they did not earn -- in fact, as at least one fellow has discovered, it's apparently illegal to do so.

Nevertheless, it seems that Beck has decided to co-opt the Badge of Military Merit for his own purposes. In May, Beck said on his radio show that he would award “badges of merit” modeled on the Washington badge in connection with his August 28 shindig at the Lincoln Memorial, and he has declared that today's Purple Hearts, which are given to those who are merely wounded, are a distortion of what Washington intended.

Beck may have respect for the military and the Founding Fathers, but not so much respect that he won't co-opt them for his personal crusade.