Honoring Veterans: Kane County Is Now a ‘Purple Heart County’
More than 858 of Kane County’s sons and daughters have given their lives while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
And that amounts to 858 reasons Kane County on Tuesday was proclaimed a Purple Heart County.
Purple Heart recipients Herbert Moll, Jim Davidson and Charles Fox came to Tuesday’s Kane County board meeting to bestow the honor to Board Chairman Chris Lauzen, County Board member T.R. Smith, himself a veteran, and the entire Kane County Board.
Jake Zimmerman, superintendent of the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission, said the recognition is especially meaningful in this time in American history.
“This is our way to recognize that Kane County and its citizens appreciate and remember the very high price that our veterans and service members have paid for the freedoms that we enjoy today,” he said.
Communities across the nation are able to proclaim themselves as Purple Heart communities in recognition of those who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States and were killed or injured while engaging in combat with the enemy.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart is campaigning to get more Fox Valley towns and villages to become Purple Heart communities, as well, Zimmerman said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Davidson read aloud the Purple Heart County proclamation, whose full text is presented below.
“We proclaim the County of Kane, Illinois, to be a Purple Heart County honoring the service and sacrifice of our nation’s men and women in uniform, wounded or killed by the enemy while serving to protect our freedoms,” he said.
Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen and County Board member T.R. Smith accept the Purple Heart plaque from Purple Heart veterans Herbert Moll, Jim Davidson and Charles Fox during a brief ceremony at Tuesday’s County Board meeting.
About the Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in 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. It is specifica
lly a combat decoration.
The organization now known as the “Military Order of the Purple Heart,” was formed in 1932 for the protection and mutual interest of all who have received the decoration. Composed exclusively of Purple Heart recipients, it is the only veterans service organization comprised strictly of “combat” veterans.
Funds for welfare, rehabilitation and/or service work carried on by the organization are derived through the collection of used household items, the operation of thrift stores, through the donation of automobiles and, at the community level, from the annual distribution of its official flower, the Purple Heart Viola. Violas are assembled by disabled and needy veterans, many of whom receive little or no compensation from other sources. Thus, your contribution to our programs serve are two-fold. First, they help the veterans who participate in these endeavors and, secondly, they enable the organization to do many things on behalf of hospitalized and needy veterans and their families.
Wives, mothers, daughters and adopted daughters of Purple Heart recipients are eligible to belong to the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, which also does important work nationally and locally in veterans’ hospitals.
SOURCE: www.purpleheart.org/
RESOLUTION NO. 17 – 231
PROCLAIMING KANE COUNTY AS A PURPLE HEART COUNTY
WHEREAS, the County of Kane, Illinois and our communities have a great admiration and the utmost gratitude for all the men and women who have served or are selflessly serving their country and our communities in the Armed Forces of the United States; and
WHEREAS, veterans have paid the high price of freedom by leaving their families and communities and placing themselves in harm’s way for the good of all; and
WHEREAS, the contributions and sacrifices of the men and women who served in the Armed Forces of the United States have been vital in maintaining the freedoms and way of life enjoyed by our citizens; and
WHEREAS, over 858 of Kane County’s sons and daughters have given their lives while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States; and
WHEREAS, citizens of the County of Kane have received the Purple Heart Medal as a result of being wounded while engaged in combat with the enemy, construed as a singularly meritorious act of essential service; and
WHEREAS, the County of Kane seeks to remember and recognize veterans who are recipients of the Purple Heart Medal; and
WHEREAS, we proclaim the County of Kane, Illinois to be a Purple Heart County honoring the service and sacrifice of our nation’s men and women in uniform, wounded or killed by the enemy while serving to protect our freedoms.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Kane County Board and the Chairman thereof that we support the County of Kane, Illinois becoming a Purple Heart County in recognition of our community’s Purple Heart Medal recipients.
Passed by the Kane County Board on August 8, 2017.
