DEPARTMENT: Intergovernmental Relations
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jeff Coyle
SUBJECT:
March 3, 2015 Council Consideration Request from Councilman Gallagher
SUMMARY:
On March 3, 2015 Councilman Gallagher sponsored a Council Consideration Request (CCR) in which he requested that the City of San Antonio City Council issue a proclamation that declares San Antonio a "Purple Heart City".
Staff will coordinate the proclamation date and event with the San Antonio Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Additionally, the Purple Heat Chapter Commander has requested to participate in the City's proclamation ceremony.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Purple Heart is the oldest award given by the United States military services. It is awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart was founded in 1932 and later chartered by Congress in 1958. The organization is comprised of military men and women who received the Purple Heart Medal for wounds suffered in combat. Although its membership is restricted to the combat wounded, the Military Order of the Purple Heart supports all veterans and their families with a number of nation-wide programs by Chapters and Nations Service Offices.
With a current membership of 765, San Antonio is home to the largest chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart in the Nation. San Antonio also has the largest population of veterans and active duty personnel of any city in Texas and second only to
San Diego, California.
ISSUE:
San Antonio has been invited by Mr. Gilbert Brown, Commander of the Military Order of The Purple Heart to proclaim itself as a "Purple Heart City".
A proclamation by The City of San Antonio recognizing the city as a "Purple Heart City" will honor those men ...
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