The Order of Lafayette is a patriotic, hereditary, nonpartisan, and fraternal organization established in New York City in 1958 by Colonel Hamilton Fish III (1888-1991), a former Congressman from New York and decorated veteran of the First World War. The Order's patron is the Marquis de Lafayette, the French officer who was commissioned a general in the Continental Army, and who served with George Washington during the American Revolution. The Order's principles are "God, Unity, Peace, Honor".
A serving officer of the famed 369th Regiment (The Harlem Hellfighters), New York Army National Guard, Colonel Fish founded the Order of Lafayette as a society to give recognition to all commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces, male or female, who served in France during World War I, or in France or French possessions during World War II. It also includes United States officers who served in France during World War I in the Lafayette Escadrille Flying Corps, the American Field Service, or with the Allies of World War I. Military service in France includes participating in an invasion or flight within the coastal areas of France or French possessions.