When and Where did "honor First" ORIGINATE?
Drawing from a 1929 Immigration Service index reference and the 1927 Commissioner General's Report to the Secretary of the Department of Labor, it is believed that the motto "Honor First" emerged within the El Paso District, which includes present-day Tucson, El Paso, and Big Bend Sectors, around 1926.
The excerpt from the 1927 Commissioner General's report is the earliest use of "Honor First" that has been found. The report covers July 1926 - June 1927 (FY27):
The border patrol is a young man's organization; it appeals strongly to the lover of the big outdoors—the primeval forests, the sunparched deserts, the mountains, and the plains; the business upon which it is engaged calls for manhood, stamina, versatility, and resourcefulness in the highest degree. "Honor first" is its watchword; privations and danger but serve as a challenge which none refuses. Unfailing courtesy to all, and helpfulness to the helpless in distress, are emphasized above every other requisite. These young men are proud of their jobs—proud of their organization—with a code of ethics unsurpassed by any similar organization of this or any other day. In the three short years of its existence it has created a priceless store of traditions. The pride of these men in their organization is equaled only by the pride and esteem in which they are held by the communities in which they operate. Spontaneous testimonials of this esteem are being constantly received by the bureau. To an almost unbelievable extent the border patrol is self-governing. Its members must be left largely to their own devices and upon their honor. The weight of popular disapproval of his fellow officers is more potent with the erring one than all the printed regulations humanly possible to devise. The uniform is sacred; it not only symbolizes authority, the law's majesty and all the power of the Federal Government, but it entails obligations upon the wearer in the way of deportment which are intuitively recognized and scrupulously observed.
In 1930, a letter from the El Paso District given to newly appointed Border Patrol Inspectors underscored "Honor First" as a core value and watchword. New hires were urged to resign immediately if they could not embody this principle.
The Border Patrol trademarked the phrase "Honor First" on August 17, 2010, and renewed the trademark on October 7, 2019.
The excerpt from the 1927 Commissioner General's report is the earliest use of "Honor First" that has been found. The report covers July 1926 - June 1927 (FY27):
The border patrol is a young man's organization; it appeals strongly to the lover of the big outdoors—the primeval forests, the sunparched deserts, the mountains, and the plains; the business upon which it is engaged calls for manhood, stamina, versatility, and resourcefulness in the highest degree. "Honor first" is its watchword; privations and danger but serve as a challenge which none refuses. Unfailing courtesy to all, and helpfulness to the helpless in distress, are emphasized above every other requisite. These young men are proud of their jobs—proud of their organization—with a code of ethics unsurpassed by any similar organization of this or any other day. In the three short years of its existence it has created a priceless store of traditions. The pride of these men in their organization is equaled only by the pride and esteem in which they are held by the communities in which they operate. Spontaneous testimonials of this esteem are being constantly received by the bureau. To an almost unbelievable extent the border patrol is self-governing. Its members must be left largely to their own devices and upon their honor. The weight of popular disapproval of his fellow officers is more potent with the erring one than all the printed regulations humanly possible to devise. The uniform is sacred; it not only symbolizes authority, the law's majesty and all the power of the Federal Government, but it entails obligations upon the wearer in the way of deportment which are intuitively recognized and scrupulously observed.
In 1930, a letter from the El Paso District given to newly appointed Border Patrol Inspectors underscored "Honor First" as a core value and watchword. New hires were urged to resign immediately if they could not embody this principle.
The Border Patrol trademarked the phrase "Honor First" on August 17, 2010, and renewed the trademark on October 7, 2019.
