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Palmetto Bay Mayor Karyn Cunningham and Councilmembers Steve Cody and Patrick Fiore attended a special Purple Heart Celebration on Aug. 7 at the Miami Military Museum and Memorial.
The ceremony also was attended by representatives of Palmer Trinity School and South Miami Senior High School, as well as by active military personnel and veterans.
The new Miami Military Museum and Memorial, located adjacent to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, had partnered with the Military Order of the Purple Heart to honor Purple Heart recipients on the 239th anniversary of George Washington establishing the Purple Heart Medal.
Mayor Karyn Cunningham explained the significance of the event.
“The Village of Palmetto Bay was the first municipality in South Florida to become a Purple Heart City back in 2016, so it was fitting that the first private school in South Florida was Palmer Trinity here in the Village of Palmetto Bay along with South Miami Senior,” Mayor Cunningham said. “We were proud to be able to join the National Purple Heart Day celebration at the Military Museum in honoring the service and sacrifice of our local sons and daughters by presenting a proclamation.”
The Purple Heart award was originally called the Badge of Military Merit when then General George Washington introduced it. In 1931, the name of the award and design of the medal was changed by Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General.
The oldest award still given to service members, the Purple Heart medal is awarded to those wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States or as a result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed forces.
An address commemorating the event was given by United States Southern Command Combatant Commander Admiral Craig S. Faller.
The Miami Military Museum and Memorial is located at 12460 SW 152 St., Miami, FL 33177.
