Larkin Announces Bidding Process Complete For Purple Heart Hall Of Honor

Senator Bill Larkin (R-C, Cornwall-on-Hudson) today announced that the bidding process for construction of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor has been completed.

"It’s been a long time coming, but construction on the national Purple Heart Hall of Honor is soon to begin," said Senator Larkin. "The bidding process has just been completed and contract documents are now being prepared. We expect to have shovels in the ground within about eight weeks. Construction of the building should be completed by mid-summer 2006."

Past National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart and Retired USMC Colonel Dick Esau said, "Thanks to the efforts of Senator Bill Larkin, groundbreaking for the Purple Heart Hall of Honor is scheduled for the end of May 2005. Construction of the Hall, which is fully funded, ensures that the reflections of those wounded in combat and the histories of those killed in action from WWII onward can be preserved on video and audio tape for generations as yet unborn to appreciate. Wouldn’t it be nice if the thoughts of the soldiers who occupied this New Windsor Cantonment at the end of the Revolutionary War could have been video/audio taped as well? What a legacy that would be."

Larkin added, "No current American museum or historic site tells an adequate story about the Purple Heart, its origin and its significance. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, to be located in New Windsor, New York, will do just that by recognizing the more than two million brave American men and women who were killed or wounded in combat. This state-of-the-art 21st century facility will preserve the stories of ordinary men and women and the extraordinary sacrifices they made for this nation."

The Hall will be a 7,500 square foot facility with a reception area, gallery, exhibit hall, learning and education center for school groups and tours, research library, and a presentation room. Through historic photographs, artifacts, military history collections, documentary film footage, period objects, and videotaped recollections by the veterans themselves, the Hall will provide a multi-media display exploring the spirit of the American people in times of war. Among these materials, some of which date back to World War I, are Purple Heart medals, Presidential certificates, uniforms of recipients, and other related correspondence, photographs and objects.