A look into the Purple Heart Exhibit ahead of Veterans Week in Colorado Springs
Nick Smith, The Gazette
Starting in November, an art exhibit at this year’s Veterans Week in Colorado Springs will transport residents back in time to the creation of the United States through medals and coins.
Created by the American Numismatic Association (ANA) Money Museum, the Purple Heart Exhibit will showcase original artwork used in the design and engraving of the Purple Heart medal. The exhibit rewinds the clock to explore the history of the gold-colored, heart-shaped medallion that features President George Washington at its center and how the once-forgotten medal became so important.
Other historic medals from the Revolutionary War and the American Civil War, alongside 150 additional Department of Defense medals and decorations, will also be included in the exhibit.
The exhibit is part of a week of festivities meant to honor the 94,000 veterans who live in El Paso County.
“My hope is that veterans will be able to see the material and connect with it along with their families,” said Douglass Mudd, the museum’s curator and director. “That’s always where the problem is. The veterans know what it’s about, but it’s the families that sometimes need a little more information, a little bit more to connect with.”
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The special exhibit was created specifically for Veterans Week after its creator, John O’Donnell, reached out to the museum a few months ago. Since then, Mudd and assistant curator Caroline Turco have been piecing together their artwork to create an exhibit that would honor wounded and deceased soldiers.
Turco, who grew up in a military family, sees the exhibit as a way to connect with her family history while showing people that numismatics, the study or collection of coins, paper currency and medals, is a lot more than “just coins.”
“Everything you see has to be created artistically. How is it going to be reproduced? And seeing all of that aspect of things, kind of behind the scenes, is a nice way to get people interested in what it is that they might wear on their chest now,” she said.
As the oldest active military award in the United States, the concept of the Purple Heart dates back to shortly after the Revolutionary War, and, like its country, has gone through many changes.
At the time, there were very few awards given to common soldiers who served their country, with most being given to great commanders, aristocrats or kings, according to the National World War II Museum website. Washington felt a need to correct that and issued the Badge of Military, which consisted of a cloth purple heart to be worn over the left breast, to three army sergeants.
The medal was soon forgotten shortly after, leaving only three servicemembers known to be issued the medal for 150 years until U.S. Army Chief of Staff Douglass MacArthur renamed the badge to the Purple Heart and declared the newly named medal will be awarded for valorous acts of service in the U.S. Army.
The Purple Heart medal.
The medal soon became applicable to the other branches over the course of 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. By the end of World War II, over 1 million Purple Hearts were presented to men and women wounded or killed by enemy action, according to the museum.
Since then, an estimated 1.9 million servicemembers have been awarded the medal, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Because the medal has strong ties to Washington, the ANA Money Museum is also showcasing over 950 medals, tokens and coins related to the first U.S. president, whom Turco said has become an allegory for patriotism.
“He’s a symbol for America, and he’s one of the most common images that you see, even today,” Mudd said.
Colorado Springs area military events starting Sept. 14
The inaugural Veterans Week kicks off Nov. 1 with the Air Force vs. Army football game at Falcon Stadium . The Purple Heart and Washingtonian exhibits will be showcased Nov. 7 for a special one-day event.
The Veterans Day Parade will be the following day starting at 11 a.m. and proceed along the traditional route on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs. Andrew Koen, a spokesperson for the organizers, said the city has accommodated for the parade amid the Tejon Street revitalization.
The parade will be kicked off by three Parade Grand Marshals: Rear Admiral Tracy Hines with the U.S. Space Command, Col. Edwin Matthaidess III with the U.S. Army and Major General Sean Day with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
Active-duty U.S. Space Force and Air Force members hold a pre-parade marching practice on Nov. 9, 2024 during the In Their Honor Veterans Day Parade on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs. After the Colorado Springs Veteran’s Day Parade was cancelled in October due to low registration and sponsorship numbers, public outcry led Colorado International Events — the same organization that hosts the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade—to step in. “I feel awesome,” Moore said. “We have to honor those who came before us.”
The week will be capped off by a wreath-laying ceremony at Memorial Park on Nov. 11.
As part of the week, the organizers will be “transforming” downtown Colorado Springs by decorating it with 1,111 American flags to honor veterans, retired military and active-duty service members, Koen said.
People can “adopt a flag” and have themself or another military member named on the flag by donating $25 to the organization through their website. All proceeds go toward funding for Veterans Week in the future, Koen said.
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Contact the writer at mary.shinn@gazettedev.gazette.com or (719) 429-9264.
