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The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Celebrates Armed Forces Day and Community Day This Saturday
Filled with music, art, family fun, and trips back in time, Community Day at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site will commemorate and honor the American military- past and present- and also offer families a free, fun-filled day of activities. For more information, please call (845) 561-1765, or visit www.thepurpleheart.com.
The morning events begin at 11am, with a performance of taps, as the Hall of Honor participates in the Taps Across America program, which honors and remembers American veterans through worldwide performances of Taps on Armed Forces Day. Color Guards from the Fleet Reserve Association, the Junior ROTC of Newburgh Free Academy, the American Legion Post of Cornwall, and the Marines from Stewart National Guard Base will present colors, followed by a rousing performance of military music from different periods in American history by the West Point Hellcats.
Young visitors can design their own medals in a handson activity, while professional portraitist Deborah O'Connor will create original silhouette paper-cut portraits of children and adults for a modest fee. Each of her portraits is an original work of art, created freehand with cut paper. Silhouette portraits make exquisite and unique gifts and treasured family mementos.
You can also create a "video thank you" to veterans and active military servicemen and servicewomen. Anyone who wishes to express their gratitude to those who have fought and sacrificed for our country is welcome to participate. The recorded "thank yous" will be shown at the Hall of Honor in the late summer and early fall, and will be presented to veteran and Purple Heart organizations.
New Windsor Cantonment will offer a glimpse of life in the past, with ongoing demonstrations of 18th-century blacksmithing, musket drills and artillery firing, and demonstrations of medicine as it was practiced at the time of the American Revolution, conducted by interpreters in period costume.
Armed Forces Day was created in 1949 as a single day to celebrate and honor all American who have served their country through the military. Always held on the third Saturday in May, Armed Forces Day was meant to replace the separate days celebrated by the different branches of the military, and came about at the moment when the Armed Forces were unified under the Department of Defense.
May 19 is also Community Day for the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, when admission at all state historic sites is free, and family programming is offered to encourage visitors of all ages to explore the wonderful resources of their state.
The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located at New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site, 374 Temple Hill Road (Route 300), in the town of New Windsor. It is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am-5pm, Sunday 1-5pm, and Monday 10am - 5pm. It is closed on Tuesdays. Admission is free. For more information call (845) 561-1765 or visit www.thepurpleheart.com
The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is part of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission administers 27 parks, parkways and historic sites for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in New York as well as the Palisades Interstate Park and parkway in New Jersey. For more information about New York State parks and historic sites, visit www.nysparks.com.
For more information about the parks and historic sites in the Palisades Interstate Park, visit www. friendsof palisades.org.
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