Purple Heart County signs to be installed

The Ozark County Commissioners voted last week to become a “Purple Heart County,” a designation made by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to signify that a county honors Purple Heart medal recipients and the sacrifices they’ve made to earn the  decoration, which is awarded to members of the armed forces who were wounded or killed while serving. 

During Monday’s meeting, Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton said that the county is in the process of ordering nine signs with the designation on them. Eight of the signs will be installed at highway entrances coming into Ozark County: Highway 160 east, Highway 160 west, J Highway, Highway 5 south, Highway 5 north, Highway 101, CC Highway and Highway 14. The final sign will be installed at the Ozark County Courthouse in Gainesville.

Newton said that once the signs are installed, the county will hold a proclamation signing where officials will be presented a plaque and certificate. The commissioners plan to invite local Purple Heart medal recipients and local organizations for active duty military personnel and veterans to attend.

The commissioners have worked with Senior Vice Commander of Missouri A. George Befort III of the Military Order of the Purple Heart for the project. Newton said that Befort is working with numerous counties in the state to adopt the designation. His final goal is to get all 114 counties in the state designated as a Purple Heart County, making Missouri one of only a handful in which every county is a Purple Heart County. 

To find out more about the Missouri Military Order of the Purple Heart and its efforts, visit mophmissouri.org.