thedrifter
08-14-08, 07:51 AM
Purple Heart monument unveiled at Parris Island
Published Thu, Aug 14, 2008 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island paused Wednesday to pay homage to those who've sacrificed their bodies -- and too often their lives -- to defend America and its ideals.
The depot, with the help of Beaufort's chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, unveiled its new Purple Heart Memorial during a ceremony at the Recruit Chapel. The Purple Heart is awarded to U.S. servicemen killed or wounded in combat.
The memorial, standing more than five feet tall and made of black granite, bears the image of the medal itself, along with an excerpt from James Babbington Macaulay's poem "Horatius." It sits immediately adjacent to a monument honoring the depot's drill instructors along Boulevard de France,near the parade deck.
Capt. Omar Adame,a two-time Purple Heart recipient, said the memorial will serve as a daily reminder to both recruits and active-duty Marines of the sacrifices made by a few in the defense of many.
"This is the gateway for the Marine Corps," he said. "We have thousands of recruits that come through here and they have family members who have served .. and as they come through here and see the parade deck, they can see a monument dedicated to people who they may have known and were lost in combat, or they, themselves, may even be Purple Heart recipients."
Adame, with Parris Island's 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, earned his Purple Hearts for combat injuries suffered during the assault on Fallujah in 2004 and for wounds sustained in Iraq in 2006.
Though the nation's oldest military honor, no one sets out to receive the Purple Heart, said retired Marine Col. Robert L. Mastrion,a two-time recipient of the award, which was first awarded by Gen. George Washington in 1782.The medal was not awarded again until 1932.
"I always get a kick when people see the lapel pin and say, 'You won the Purple Heart.' I have to explain to them that I don't know anyone who's got one (a Purple Heart) that considers themselves a winner," Mastrion joked. "The Purple Heart is an award that everyone honors, but no one really wants. By its very nature, it's an award that you earn at great cost and great suffering."
Mastrion, ofMount Pleasant, said that while the Purple Heart is not as prestigious as the Congressional Medal of Honor or the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the men who receive it are owed for their contribution to the spread of democracy worldwide.
"(Purple Heart recipients) aren't the guys with the big medals or the guys running for politics, they're the guy running a gas station and driving a truck," he said. "The world does not shower adulation upon most of the holders of the Purple Heart, but there is a satisfaction of knowing that, in the big picture, that you contributed to the forward progress of democracy."
Upwards of 85 active-duty Marines stationed at Parris Island have received the Purple Heart, said retired Army Col. Charles Stockell of the Beaufort chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Stockell, a four-time Purple Heart recipient, said the Beaufort chapter has more than 60 members.
The inscription on the Purple Heart Memorial reads: "How can man die better, Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods." -- James Babbington Macaulay, "Horatius" 1842
Video
http://www2.beaufortgazette.com/node/22064
Ellie
Published Thu, Aug 14, 2008 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island paused Wednesday to pay homage to those who've sacrificed their bodies -- and too often their lives -- to defend America and its ideals.
The depot, with the help of Beaufort's chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, unveiled its new Purple Heart Memorial during a ceremony at the Recruit Chapel. The Purple Heart is awarded to U.S. servicemen killed or wounded in combat.
The memorial, standing more than five feet tall and made of black granite, bears the image of the medal itself, along with an excerpt from James Babbington Macaulay's poem "Horatius." It sits immediately adjacent to a monument honoring the depot's drill instructors along Boulevard de France,near the parade deck.
Capt. Omar Adame,a two-time Purple Heart recipient, said the memorial will serve as a daily reminder to both recruits and active-duty Marines of the sacrifices made by a few in the defense of many.
"This is the gateway for the Marine Corps," he said. "We have thousands of recruits that come through here and they have family members who have served .. and as they come through here and see the parade deck, they can see a monument dedicated to people who they may have known and were lost in combat, or they, themselves, may even be Purple Heart recipients."
Adame, with Parris Island's 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, earned his Purple Hearts for combat injuries suffered during the assault on Fallujah in 2004 and for wounds sustained in Iraq in 2006.
Though the nation's oldest military honor, no one sets out to receive the Purple Heart, said retired Marine Col. Robert L. Mastrion,a two-time recipient of the award, which was first awarded by Gen. George Washington in 1782.The medal was not awarded again until 1932.
"I always get a kick when people see the lapel pin and say, 'You won the Purple Heart.' I have to explain to them that I don't know anyone who's got one (a Purple Heart) that considers themselves a winner," Mastrion joked. "The Purple Heart is an award that everyone honors, but no one really wants. By its very nature, it's an award that you earn at great cost and great suffering."
Mastrion, ofMount Pleasant, said that while the Purple Heart is not as prestigious as the Congressional Medal of Honor or the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the men who receive it are owed for their contribution to the spread of democracy worldwide.
"(Purple Heart recipients) aren't the guys with the big medals or the guys running for politics, they're the guy running a gas station and driving a truck," he said. "The world does not shower adulation upon most of the holders of the Purple Heart, but there is a satisfaction of knowing that, in the big picture, that you contributed to the forward progress of democracy."
Upwards of 85 active-duty Marines stationed at Parris Island have received the Purple Heart, said retired Army Col. Charles Stockell of the Beaufort chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Stockell, a four-time Purple Heart recipient, said the Beaufort chapter has more than 60 members.
The inscription on the Purple Heart Memorial reads: "How can man die better, Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods." -- James Babbington Macaulay, "Horatius" 1842
Video
http://www2.beaufortgazette.com/node/22064
Ellie