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Charlotte dinner honors Purple Heart recipients

John Higgins, who received a Purple Heart and served in the Navy during the Korean War, is escorted into Saturday's Purple Heart Dinner during the Walk of Honor. Dozens of Purple Heart recipients were honored Saturday night at the inaugural Charlotte Purple Heart Dinner at the Le Meridien Charlotte, 555 S. McDowell St. uptown. The event included a reception for Purple Heart recipients, a Walk of Honor where each Purple Heart recipient was introduced with their military branch, years of service and where and how the Purple Heart was received, an escort by Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Junior ROTC cadets for each honoree, special recognition for those killed in action, and an elegant seated dinner. The event, hosted by the Purple Heart Foundation of North Carolina, is the first of what organizers hope will be an annual dinner for Charlotte-region recipients.
John Higgins, who received a Purple Heart and served in the Navy during the Korean War, is escorted into Saturday's Purple Heart Dinner during the Walk of Honor. Dozens of Purple Heart recipients were honored Saturday night at the inaugural Charlotte Purple Heart Dinner at the Le Meridien Charlotte, 555 S. McDowell St. uptown. The event included a reception for Purple Heart recipients, a Walk of Honor where each Purple Heart recipient was introduced with their military branch, years of service and where and how the Purple Heart was received, an escort by Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Junior ROTC cadets for each honoree, special recognition for those killed in action, and an elegant seated dinner. The event, hosted by the Purple Heart Foundation of North Carolina, is the first of what organizers hope will be an annual dinner for Charlotte-region recipients. Diedra Laird dlaird@charlotteobserver.com

More than 80 Charlotte-area Purple Heart recipients from as far back as World War II were honored Saturday night at a dinner at the Le Méridien Charlotte hotel near uptown.

The event, hosted by the Purple Heart Foundation of North Carolina, was the first of what organizers hope will be an annual dinner. Similar dinners have been held for about four years in Goldsboro, Winston-Salem, Wake Forest and Wilmington.

About 1,000 people were expected to attend the dinner. The recipients and two family members were treated to a reception before the dinner, then one by one they were introduced by their branch of service and the circumstances of how they were wounded.

Each recipient was escorted by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Junior ROTC cadet.

The medal was established in 1782 by George Washington as a badge of military merit. It is awarded to those who are wounded or killed while serving in the U.S. military.

David Perlmutt: 704-358-5061, @dperlmutt

This story was originally published August 15, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Charlotte dinner honors Purple Heart recipients."

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