Purple Heart recipients rarely ask for recognition, and they tend to go about their business as if they have never received one of the most distinguished military awards that can be given. However, Ohio is changing the way Purple Heart recipients are honored and other states are beginning to consider if they do should the same.
We all know that handicap spots are reserved for disabled citizens. These spots, which are usually located at the front of the parking lot and marked in blue, are noted by the majority of drivers.
Ohio recently came to the conclusion that Purple Heart recipients should be able to park front and center as well, considering they risked their life and got injured while defending others. The military decoration is awarded to those who were wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917. As the oldest military award, it is by far, one of the most notable.
The newly crafted spaces can be seen outside the Warren Municipal Court in Warren, Ohio, and it is being seen as a way to honor veterans for serving our country.
“For the city to recognize veterans by putting out a parking spot for the combat wounded, you know, combat wounded, they should hold a special place in everyone’s heart,” Trumbull County Veteran Services Network director Herman Breuer said. “They spilled blood for our country.”
Evidently, the city of Warren isn’t stopping at the courtroom and they plan to put these recognizable spaces in every city building parking lot.
“We’ll have one at every single building that’s used. So right now, City Hall will have one, the new government services building, the old Gibson building will have one, along with Packard Music Hall,” Warren Mayor Doug Franklin said.
After Ohio established the Purple Heart spots, word spread fast and now the City of Clovis, New Mexico is on board, having implemented their own purple parking spaces.
I saw that some people in another city had done this,” Clovis resident Nathan McCreery, who spearheaded the campaign said. “And I thought, ‘Wow, we have to do that here.’
McCreey believes that the recognition is the right thing to do, and it’s a way to give back to those who sacrificed.
“Honor is due,” he said, of the first parking spot of its kind in the state. “Just because you aren’t former military doesn’t mean you can’t respect what they do and what has been done … We want to give honor and respect to these men and women because some of them have paid a huge price.”
In the video below, you can witness the unveiling of the first purple parking spot in Ohio.
Commenters felt that the new purple spots were appropriate…
It’s a great idea. It’s just a way of saying “thank you” to our veterans. I would rather spend the money on them than on aliens migrating to our country. An Ohio resident.
Well done Warren OH – c’mon y’all follow suit.
This isn’t the only thing that the city of Warren has done to better their veteran services. There will also be a brand new building dedicated to housing all the veteran organizations under one roof.
