President Donald Trump honored Purple Heart recipients at the White House on Aug. 7.
Trump hosted the afternoon event at the White House in honor of National Purple Heart Day, which is observed every Aug. 7 to spotlight the achievements of service members who were wounded or killed in action.
He recognized nearly 100 Purple Heart recipients, including former Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita.
“We’re here to honor and celebrate the unyielding patriotism and grit and devotion to America’s Purple Heart veterans. ... Today, we give our everlasting thanks to you and your unbelievable families,” the president said.
Brown was awarded a Purple Heart after he was wounded by an improvised explosive device.
Along with Brown, other Purple Heart recipients who attended included U.S. Army veterans Kevin Jensen, Kevin Willette, Brian Willette, and John Ford; and U.S. Marine veterans Thomas Matteo and Gerald Enter Jr.
“Those who wear this medal ran into bullets, faced ferocious bombs, and shed their blood on the field of battle. We will never forget what they did. We will always use them as an example of bravery and courage and strength, and we will also always think, when we look at them, of our great American flag,” Trump said. “We want our great American flag to be strong, and it’s stronger than ever.”
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told The Epoch Times, “The Purple Heart is one of our nation’s highest, but most solemn military honors—recognizing those who have performed an act of courage for our country that can never be repaid.”
“President Trump cares deeply about honoring our brave men and women in uniform, and today, he will recognize those who have earned this distinction and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom,” Rogers said. “There is no one more deserving of our gratitude than these great American heroes.”
Following the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Purple Heart recipients sent their awards to Trump, “believing that the president deserved theirs for being wounded in service of his country,” a White House official told The Epoch Times.
These recipients were brought to campaign stops to get their awards back from the president.
Gen. George Washington awarded the first Badges of Military Merit—the medal was redesigned and renamed the Purple Heart in 1932—to three Continental Army soldiers during the Revolutionary War: William Brown, Elijah Churchill, and Daniel Bissell Jr. in 1782.
“This afternoon, we’re joined by dozens of Purple Heart recipients and their families ... just as General Washington did 243 years ago,” Trump said.
