Henderson chapter honors Purple Heart recipients

Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 730, Henderson Senior Vice Commander, Rudy Loupias, (center) is flanked on the left by Richard Keirn and on the right by the Sergeant of Arms, Ron Sharetts during a memorial ceremony honoring its fallen comrades Saturday Aug. 2, 2014 at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Boulder City. Keirn read the names of departed members while Sharetts rang the bell in honor of them. The ceremony also marks the approximate date in August 1782 when General George Washington established the Badge of Merit for Revolutionary War soldiers, that became the precursor for the Medal of Honor and the current Purple Heart medal for combat wounded, that bears his image. Steve Andrascik/Las Vegas Review Journal

Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 730, Henderson Sergeant of Arms, Ron Sharetts rings a bell as names of departed comrades are readl during a memorial ceremony Saturday Aug. 2, 2014 at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Boulder City. The ceremony also marks the approximate date in August 1782 when General George Washington established the Badge of Merit for Revolutionary War soldiers, that became the precursor for the Medal of Honor and the current Purple Heart medal for combat wounded, that bears his image. Steve Andrascik/Las Vegas Review Journal Steve Andrascik/Las Vegas Review Journal

Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 730, Henderson Senior Vice Commander, Rudy Loupias, (center) is flanked on the left by Richard Keirn (partially hidden) and on the right by the Sergeant of Arms, Ron Sharetts as he addresses attendees during a memorial ceremony honoring the chapter's fallen comrades Saturday Aug. 2, 2014 at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Boulder City. The ceremony also marks the approximate date in August 1782 when General Geroge Washington established the Badge of Merit for Revolutionary War soldiers, that became the precursor for the Medal of Honor and the current Purple Heart medal, for combat wounded, that bears his image. Steve Andrascik/Las Vegas Review Journal

Nearly as old as the nation itself, Gen. George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, established the forerunner of the Purple Heart medal 232 years ago this week, on Aug. 7, 1782.

The “Badge of Merit,” as Washington’s order deemed the first cloth awards, inspired the shape and color that later became the medal for those wounded in combat. It depicts an image of his bust.

“Congress simply could not afford to pay their existing officers let alone any new ones,” professor Ray Raymond wrote about the medal on the website of the congressionally chartered organization. “As a result, faithful service and outstanding acts of bravery went unrecognized and unrewarded. George Washington was determined to end that.”

And so he did, and Raymond’s observation holds true today.

In a ceremony Saturday at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, a local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart — Henderson Chapter 730 — marked the occasion to honor its deceased members and all who earned the medal through their sacrifices in combat.

“It’s been a tradition for years,” Chapter 730 Commander Craig Allen said in an interview Wednesday previewing the ceremony, in which the names of late chapter members are read while the sergeant-at-arms rings a bell.

Allen, a Marine who was wounded by shrapnel on Sept. 7, 1967, at Dong Ha combat base in Vietnam, noted that the list includes the chapter’s namesake, past Commander Harry Grater. He founded the chapter eight years ago that grew to 75 members today and is the second largest in the state next to Las Vegas Chapter 711.

“He was an ordinary soldier,” Allen said of Grater, sharing a copy of his prepared remarks. “The comrades from past to present have served with honor, bravery, courage and commitment. They shall always be remembered as true heroes and patriots of this great country of ours.”

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2.