The Town of Montgomery honored its Purple Heart recipients with a ceremony at town hall on Friday.

Purple Heart Day is observed on Aug. 7 each year and is a time for Americans to remember and honor the brave men and women who were either wounded on the battlefield or paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.

“As town supervisor it’s very important for me to make sure that the Town of Montgomery each year does everything we can to observe National Purple Heart Day and remember the purple heart recipients who fought and bled and many of whom died for our country in the service,” Brian Maher said.

In general, the purple heart may be awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who have been wounded, killed in action or have died or may die from wounds received in any action against the United States, action with an opposing armed force, the results of any hostile foreign force and many other situations where men and women in uniform may find themselves under attack.

The Purple Heart is awarded for injuries sustained because of enemy attack. Injuries sustained for other reasons not related to things “not caused by enemy agents” are generally not acceptable as grounds for receiving the Purple Heart, though friendly fire injuries do qualify as long as the friendly fire was intended for the enemy. The Purple Heart is now given to persons who are injured, wounded or died while a prisoner of war. It is estimated that more than one million Purple Hearts have been awarded.

Purple Heart recipients from the town as well as its three villages were memorialized with a purple flower placed on the veterans memorial at town hall.

Four Purple Heart recipients from Maybrook were recognized with a flower. Arthur Abrahamsen received his honor after fighting in World War II while John Brosnan earned the Purple Heart for his involvement in the Korean War. Bruce Sewall and Robert Thomas received the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during the Vietnam War. All four men served in the Army.

Three army veterans (Kenneth Liebel, Paul Milz and Kennth Zipp) and three veterans of the marine corps (Edgar Ayers, Harold Myers and Robert Starbuck) from the Village and Town of Montgomery were honored with a flower each. These individuals were wounded in the Korean War, Vietnam War and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Six army veterans (Edward Brandon, Francis Curtin, Ferris Force, Patrick Griffin, Michael Munger and Vincent Tornone) and one marine corps veteran (William Devine) of the Village of Walden were honored with a flower each. These men served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Berger family placed a flower at the memorial in honor of Robert Berger who was killed during the Vietnam War.

Lisa Bucklen-Ball recognized her father by laying a flower. Her father Charles Bucklen, of Walden, enlisted in the marine corps on July 13, 1948 and served until Feb. 1952. He was a private first class infantryman and participated in operations against enemy forces in South and Central Korea. Bucklen was a Purple Heart recipient and also received the Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal and United National Service Medal.

Maher explained that his goal is to honor more Purple Heart recipients each year. He noted that any Purple Heart recipient with a connection to the Town of Montgomery is eligible to be honored at their ceremony.

“There is no negative aspect of honoring too many Purple Heart recipients,” he said.

Maher also hopes that in the future years the town will hold a roundtable discussion about the service. He also hopes to create a curriculum for the youth in the community to talk about the service of the town’s residents.

“I think this event each year can be grown into something that’s not just a ceremony but also an opportunity to educate our young people on the sacrifices made so they can take that with them and hopefully it will inspire them to be the best version of themselves,” Maher said.