John Hurley (left) and Al Valera, both members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 875 unveiled the two signs that designated Russell as a Purple Heart Town and as part of the Purple Heart Trail. Hurley and Valera were both wounded in the Vietnam War. In the foreground is Troy Henke, the State Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars who attended and spoke at the ceremony. He brought his children.
Reminder Publishing photo by Cliff Clark
RUSSELL — On Sept. 17, there was a small ceremony hosted at Town Hall to unveil signs that designate Russell as a Purple Heart Town and that it is now part of the Purple Heart Trail which nearly all the way across the country along Route 20.
“The only thing that surprises me a little bit, I’ll be honest with you, is that Russell didn’t do this sooner. Russell has always been very supportive of veterans,” said Troy Henke, the state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars during the ceremony.
“And you’re going to join communities like Southwick, Westfield, and all the surrounding communities, so it’s fitting that Russell takes its place here, especially given the history with General Henry Knox coming through here,” Henke said, referring to Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery that passed through the town in the winter of 1775-1776 to transport captured cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston.
Russell Selectman Wayne Precanico took the podium to read two proclamations approved by the Board of Selectmen recognizing the two designations, but before thanked Jim Cortis and his wife Nancy for working with the board to secure the designations.
Precanico also thanks for the several veterans who attended the ceremony.
“I’d like to say is thank you very much to our veterans. We really appreciate those guys,” he said.
When reading the first proclamation, Precanico gave a short history of the Purple Heart medal.
It is the country’s oldest medal and established in 1782 by Gen. George Washington during the Revolutionary War as the “Badge of Military Merit.”
In 1932, it was reestablished as the Purple Heart and later Congress named Aug. 7 as Purple Heart Day, which was the day in 1782 when Washington ordered the medal to be given to soldiers wounded or killed in combat.
Al Varela, the commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 875 was also on hand.
“I strongly believe that if the town takes the time when it wants to be a Purple Heart, city, town, trail, or whatever that representation should go there,” Varela said.
Cortis, a Vietnam War veteran and Russell resident, organized the ceremony.
