The Green Beret

U.S. Army Special Forces adopted the Green Beret unofficially in 1954.

The beret was first worn at a retirement parade at Fort Bragg on 12 June 1955 for LTG Joseph P. Cleland, of the XVIII Airborne Corps. In 1956 GEN Paul D. Adams, the post commander, banned the wearing of the beret.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized them for use exclusively by the U.S. Special Forces. In 1962, he called the green beret “a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom”. At President Kennedy’s funeral, CSM Frank Ruddy famously laid a Beret on the President’s grave.