Purple Heart Memorial
Oceanport, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Marker Inscription
Dedicated to the recipients of the nations oldest military decoration the Purple Heart
The Story
The Purple Heart traces its lineage to 1782, when George Washington created the Badge of Military Merit to recognize extraordinary valor among Continental Army soldiers — one of the earliest military honors of its kind in the world. After long falling into disuse, it was revived in 1932 and reshaped into the decoration awarded to service members wounded or killed in action. A memorial like this one gathers all of those recipients into a single act of remembrance.
Why it matters
It links a decoration born in the American Revolution to every soldier wounded defending the country since, making the human cost carried across the nation's wars tangible in one quiet monument.
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Related people
- · George Washington
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