A Wound Chevron was a badge of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 which was authorized for wear on an Army uniform between the years of 1918 and 1932. The Wound Chevron was displayed on the lower right cuff of a military uniform, and denoted wounds which were received in combat against an enemy force. The Wound Chevron was a replacement insignia for the short lived Army Wound Ribbon

Army Wound Ribbon

The Army Wound Ribbon was a short lived decoration of the United States Army which was created on September 6, 1917 to recognize those soldiers who had received combat wounds during World War I...

.

In 1932, with the creation of the Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

, Wound Chevrons were no longer awarded to Army personnel. A directive of the United States War Department permitted soldiers to exchange wound chevrons for the new Purple Heart medal. This was not required, however, and some Army personnel elected to retain wound chevrons for wear on the military uniform instead of the Purple Heart. For those who were subsequently wounded in the Second World War, both the original wound chevrons and the Purple Heart medal were worn simultaneously. It is historically agreed that Army regulations did not permit wearing both the Purple Heart and the Wound Chevron at the same time; however, photographic evidence indicates that this was often done by veterans of both the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and Second World War.

In the modern military, the Wound Chevron is considered obsolete. The decoration is very similar to the Overseas Service Bar

Overseas Service Bar

An Overseas Service Bar is an accoutrement of the United States Army dress uniform which is displayed as an embroidered gold bar worn horizontally on the right sleeve of the Class A uniform and the Army Service Uniform...

, which in World War I was worn on the left sleeve.