Cd'A, Hayden, Kellogg named Purple Heart Cities
<p>Purple Heart Vietnam Veterans from the Purple Heart Chapter 509 in Boise came to Coeur d’Alene to officially declare Kellog, Hayden and Coeur d’Alene Purple Heart Cities. From left to right, William Hamilton, Army; Robert Lenigan, Army; Donald Turano, Army; Graham Crutchfield and Pete Oakander, Navy; Henry Parker, Army; Mac Pooler and Ned Barker, Army; and Steven Griffitts.</p>
<p>At left, U.S. Navy veteran Pete Oakander, who served in Vietnam, is handed a commemorative Buck sheath knife by Graham Crutchfield on Tuesday at the Coeur d'Alene Press office.</p>
<p>The City of Hayden Mayor Steve Griffitts, left, chats with Bill Hamilton and Donald Turano, both Vietnam War veterans who received the Purple Heart, on Tuesday before the veterans were given commemorative Buck sheath knives at the Coeur d'Alene Press office.</p>
<p>Graham Crutchfield holds a commemorative Buck sheath knife on Tuesday that is to be given to a Vietnam veteran who received the Purple Heart. Crutchfield has been in partnership with Buck Knives for 11 years to give commemorative knives to veterans who served in combat.</p>
COEUR d’ALENE — Members of The Military Order of the Purple Heart came to Coeur d’Alene Tuesday to support Kellogg, Hayden and Coeur d’Alene in becoming Purple Heart Cities.
“It’s our hope that we keep this precious symbol in the forefront of the public mind,” said Donald Turano, a member of Purple Heart chapter 509 from Boise. “A good way to do this is for cities to become a Purple Heart City.”
The Military Order of the Purple Heart invites cities to participate, and each city must commit to the following when issuing its proclamations: to support its veterans, Purple Heart recipients and the military.
“This encourages the residents of Coeur d’Alene to show appreciation for the sacrifices Purple Heart recipients made in defending our freedoms,” Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer read from Coeur d’Alene’s proclamation. “We acknowledge your courage and we show you honor and the support you have very well earned.”
“To be able to recognize our veterans, wounded or not, is a great honor and that’s what we want to highlight,” said Steve Griffitts, mayor of Hayden.
“It’s time we start remembering what made this country. And what made this country is people like these who joined the military at times that we needed them to protect our country,” said Mac Pooler, mayor of Kellogg.
Graham Crutchfield, a local veteran, was also there to give each of the other Purple Heart veterans a Buck knife.
Crutchfield has worked for a long time to support veterans. He organized a way for family members to communicate with soldiers via phone cards and helped service members’ families get better access to health care by getting health centers to join the Tri-Care health program that provides benefits to military personnel, retirees and their families.
Since 2005, he has been collaborating with Buck Knives in Post Falls to make commemorative knives for veterans. It started as a one-time deal, but Crutchfield saw how much the knives meant to service members and decided to continue the work. If there is not enough money from donors to pay for the knives, Crutchfield and his wife make up the difference out of pocket.
Each knife is engraved with the branch of military in which the recipient served, the year that service was established, the year the knife was made and the motto of that service.
“I wouldn’t sell one for a thousand dollars, because they’ve been earned,” Crutchfield said to the veterans in attendance yesterday. “They can’t be bought and many of them have been paid for in blood of our servicemen. So you don’t put a price on them; they’re not for sale.”
Crutchfield gave knives Tuesday to the six veterans who attended the ceremony: Pete Oakander, a petty officer third class, radioman, in the U.S. Navy; William Hamilton, a specialist five in the U.S. Army aviation; Ned Barker, a captain in the U.S. Army artillery; Donald Turano, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, armor; Robert Lenigan, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army infantry; and Henry Parker, a captain in the U.S. Army artillery.
There is a small veterans group in North Idaho that is trying to expand its reach to communities through different organizations. There are two Purple Heart chapters in Idaho, one in Pocatello and one in Boise. Ned Barker, commander of the Purple Heart Department of Idaho, is trying to get enough members to start a Purple Heart Chapter in North Idaho.
“We are looking for veterans other than WWII, Korea and Vietnam veterans,” he said. “We want to find younger folks and pass this on.”