The City of LaFayette is proud to be a Purple Heart City.
In November 2017, the City of LaFayette was officially proclaimed a Purple Heart City.
On February 22, 2018, a memorial dedication was held at Joe Stock Memorial Park where the Purple Heart Monument now resides to honor our local Purple Heart recipients.
During a November 2017 Council meeting, Mayor Andy Arnold said this proclamation is a great way to honor Purple Heart recipients in the area and asked that all citizens show their appreciation for the sacrifices made by the Purple Heart recipients in defending the freedoms we all share.
Col. Daryl T. Brooks, a local veteran and city resident, led the charge in raising funds for the monument to be purchased and placed within the Queen City of the Highlands to honor our local Purple Heart recipients.
"It is an honor to be a Purple Heart City," Arnold said during the February 2018memorial dedication.
“This monument that we dedicate today represents those wounded in combat and those that gave their lives in the service of their country,” Brooks said during the memorial dedication.
Brooks said there are around 100 Purple Heart recipients who reside in the county.
Brooks said, in World War I, Walker County lost 19 men who served in the defense of freedom.
In World War II, the county lost 83 men serving in combat, Brooks said.
He said 16 local combat soldiers died while serving in Korea as well as 31 reported soldier casualties in Vietnam.
“Their sacrifice was everything and it enables us to enjoy the freedoms that so many take for granite,” Brooks said.
Brooks said the monument does not—in any manner—glorify war, but gives respect to those that were killed or wounded while serving the country.
What is the Purple Heart?
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President of the United States to soldiers who were either killed or wounded while serving the country on or after April 5, 1917.