Anchorage Assembly set to honor veterans and Purple Heart recipients in November

The Anchorage Assembly is set Wednesday to recognize Nov. 11 as Veterans Day and November as Purple Heart Month, in two resolutions honoring veterans and troops wounded or killed in combat.

About 1 in 10 Alaska residents has served in the armed forces, the Veterans Day resolution says. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the state's largest military installation, is home to 32,000 service members, family members and civilian workers.

The resolution calls Alaska one of the military's most desirable duty stations, with many new recruits choosing it as their first. It recalls the state's military past: the Aleutian Islands Campaign and the Aleutian Tigers and the Alaska Territorial Guard in World War II, and the Nike Hercules anti-aircraft missiles of the Cold War.

Nobody knows exactly how many Purple Heart recipients live in Anchorage, the Purple Heart resolution says. Members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 593, all of them recipients, volunteer to find them and help them and their families.

Recipients in Anchorage get free parking at EasyPark garages and free Purple Heart license plates. The Alaska Highway from Fairbanks to the Canadian border is part of the nationwide Purple Heart Trail. Paws for Purple Hearts trains service dogs at no cost for veterans with traumatic brain injuries, PTSD or mobility challenges, according to the Alaska VA. Veterans don't need a Purple Heart to qualify.

The Purple Heart is the nation's oldest military medal. George Washington created it in 1782 as the Badge of Military Merit. It was lost for 150 years until Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur revived it in 1932.

The Assembly passed a nearly identical Veterans Day resolution last year and first named Anchorage a Purple Heart City in 2019. In September, it recognized Sept. 20 as LGBTQ Veterans Day.

Eight Assembly members and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance sponsored both resolutions. JBER holds a Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11, and the resolution points residents to the Anchorage Veterans Museum.