GRAVETTE -- Officers from the Military Order of the Purple Heart attended the April 28 meeting of the Gravette city council and presented Kurt Maddox, Gravette mayor, with a plaque designating Gravette as a Purple Heart City. Gravette was officially designated a Purple Heart City on March 24, but the proclamation ceremony was delayed until this meeting.
Patriot Chuck Adkins, Jr., senior vice commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Department of Arkansas, and commander of Chapter 460, Fayetteville, made a few remarks on the significance of the event. He explained that the Purple Heart is specifically a combat decoration and it is our nation's oldest military medal. Created by General George Washington in 1782 and originally known as the Badge of Military Merit, it was first awarded to three enlisted soldiers in Newburgh, N.Y., and then faded from use shortly afterward.
The award was re-established in 1932 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and renamed the Purple Heart. It is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are wounded by an instrument of war at the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. In 1973, and again in 2015, the criteria for awarding the Purple Heart was amended to include U.S. service members being wounded or killed by attacks or acts committed by terrorist groups against the United States or countries friendly to the U.S.
"Freedom is not free," Adkins stated. "The heritage the Purple Heart medal represents is sacred to those who understand the price paid to wear it. The designation of Gravette as a Purple Heart City is a fitting and patriotic expression of gratitude for the costs of freedom."
Adkins thanked the mayor, the city council and the residents of Gravette for recognizing the service and sacrifices made by all veterans who have served our nation and giving special tribute to those awarded the Purple Heart medal.
Patriot Wayne Dirck, of Gravette, finance officer of MOPH Chapter 460, presented the plaque to Maddox and Patriot Vess Lawbaugh, commander of the MOPH, Department of Arkansas, presented Maddox and city clerk Mike von Ree with MOPH honor lapel pins for their work in getting the Purple Heart City designation for Gravette.
The Purple Heart Trails and Cities Program was established in 1992 to create a symbolic system of cities, highways and bridges that give tribute to the men and women who have been awarded the Purple Heart medal. Decatur is the 20th and Gravette is the 21st city in Arkansas to be designated a Purple Heart City. There will be a total of 25 in the state after Huntsville's proclamation ceremony is held May 16. Ten of these are in Benton County.
General News on 05/11/2016