By Jonah Leibholz, Belmont Voice correspondent
Belmont will join communities across the United States Wednesday honoring distinguished veterans who have been awarded the Purple Heart.
In Belmont, a ceremony will take place Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Belmont Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond. The public is welcome to attend.
The Purple Heart was first designated as the “Badge of Military Merit” by George Washington in 1782, making it the oldest military award still given to U.S military veterans. The medal is granted to those who were injured or killed while participating in combat operations in service to their country.
According to Belmont veterans services officer Bob Upton, although there are many holidays to pay respects to veterans, this day is meant to pay homage to a select few who made some of the ultimate sacrifices for freedom. While communities celebrate their purple heart residents throughout the month of August, Belmont will be hosting a ceremony to show its appreciation for purple heart veterans all across America.
In Belmont, we would not enjoy our freedoms if it weren’t for the men who put our lives on the line for the people at home, Upton said.
“These men are the select few who made some of the greatest sacrifices to ensure those freedoms,” he said.
Belmont has been classified as a Purple Heart community by the military order of the Purple Heart since 2016, according to Upton. The event will be hosted by the Belmont Veterans memorial committee, and co-hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars outpost 1272, who will be celebrating their 100th year anniversary. The event will be emceed by Col. Michael Callanan, a former United States marine and Belmont high school graduate.
Since 2006, Belmont has been honoring Purple Heart recipients; however, this year servicemen will be honored at the Clay Pit pond Veterans Memorial, which was built in 2019.
The main speaker at the ceremony will be Bob Henebury, a former United States Marine and purple heart recipient who grew up in Belmont. Henebury was an E5 sergeant serving with the 29th marine regiment when he landed in Vietnam, and was transferred to L33 while serving. His final tour of duty was at the Boston Navy shipyard.
In his speech, Henebury will speak about the three types of Purple Heart recipient, and the significance of the sacrifices he made.