1st Cav. Div. to dedicate Purple Heart Memorial

By Sgt. Nicole Kojetin, 1st Cavalry Division Public AffairsSeptember 17, 2006

Sgt. Nicole Kojetin , 1st Cav. Div. to dedicate Purple Heart Memorial
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HOOD, Texas (Army News Service, Sept. 15, 2006) - Blood spilled over the battlefield is not easily forgotten.<br/><br/>The 1st Cavalry Division Association has decided that sacrifices made by Cav troopers past and present will live on in stone in the backyard of the 1st Cavalry Division Museum.<br/><br/>The Purple Heart Memorial was erected amidst the resting place of generations of military equipment on the museum grounds Sept. 6. It will be dedicated 10 a.m. Sept. 21 during a ceremony commemorating the 1st Cav. Div.'s 85th birthday and the 35th anniversary of the museum, which will also reopen its newly refurbished exhibits.<br/><br/>The gray granite memorial is a gift from Mr. Joe Phipps and the Phipps Memorial Company in Waco, Texas.<br/><br/>"I'm happy for the support," said Steven Draper, the museum director. "It is an honor to receive this gift through the museum foundation."<br/><br/>After the company completed the Operation Iraqi Freedom Memorial on the division's parade field, Phipps wanted to provide additional support for the First Team. Robert Tagge, the museum's executive trustee, said that the 1st Cav. Div. Association was able to choose what kind of tribute it wanted.<br/><br/>"As the division already had memorials for all the wars it fought in, the museum's trustees thought it most appropriate to have a memorial to the many Soldiers awarded the Purple Heart in the service to their country," Tagge said. "It is another way for families to understand the sacrifice and dedication the 1st Cav. Div. has made over its 85 years of service."<br/><br/>The plan was announced on Purple Heart Day, Aug. 7, and work began.<br/><br/>The base of the memorial has two engraved and painted Cav patches and six holes large enough for unit flags. The main stone has an engraving of the medal on the front and another patch on the back.