Tester: Do you know a Montana Purple Heart recipient?

Senator asks for names for Montana Purple Heart Memorial expansion

(BIG SANDY, Mont.) – As Veterans Day approaches, Senator Jon Tester is urging Montana recipients of the Purple Heart to offer their names for inclusion in the upcoming expansion of the Montana Purple Heart Memorial.

The Montana Military Order of the Purple Heart will soon update the Memorial in downtown Billings.  Tester, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, is helping collect the names of Montanans who have earned Purple Hearts whose names have not been engraved on the monument.

Tester is urging Montana’s Purple Heart recipients, or their loved ones, to submit names before Friday, October 22 at tester.senate.gov/PurpleHeart or by calling his office toll-free at 866-554-4403.  The information required is the name of the recipient, their branch of service, and the war in which they earned the Purple Heart.

“These Purple Heart recipients are Montana’s heroes,” said Jerry LaFountain, former commander of Montana’s Military Order of the Purple Heart, who manages the memorial.  “That’s why it is so important to collect these names by October 22 so that we can pay them the proper tribute that they deserve.  Thanks to Senator Tester for helping to get the word out.”

“Montanans are no strangers to sacrifice in service to country,” Tester said.  “The men and women who earned Purple Hearts represent the best of America, and set an example all Montanans are rightfully proud of.  Here, we’ve got an opportunity to pay tribute to these brave troops in a way that will be remembered by our kids and our grandkids.”

Information must be received by October 22, when Brookstone Monument Company of Billings will begin engraving the new names onto the Memorial’s granite slab.

The Memorial will be re-dedicated at a ceremony at noon on Veterans Day, November 11.

The Purple Heart is a U.S. military decoration awarded in the name of the President to troops who have been wounded or killed in service to the country.  The Purple Heart is the oldest award that is still given to members of the U.S. military.