Danvers Designated As 'Purple Heart Town'

DANVERS, MA — North Shore residents are invited to a ceremony on Aug. 7 in recognition of Danvers being recognized as a "Purple Heart Town."

The Danvers Veterans Council will host a ceremony on National Purple Heart Day at the Village Training Field on Centre Street at 6 p.m.

Purple Heart recipients are service members who have been wounded or killed while serving in the U.S. military.

The Purple Heart is the oldest American military decoration in present use. It was created by General George Washington on August 7, 1782, as The Badge of Military Merit.

This event is open to the public, and all Purple Heart recipients from the town are encouraged to attend.

The purpose of being a Purple Heart City is to express gratitude to the community's sons and daughters of our community who were either wounded or killed in combat defending the freedoms enjoyed by all Americans.

There are more than 900 Purple Heart locations in the United States, honoring the 1.6 million Purple Heart recipients.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)