The Military Order of the Purple Heart, is currently meeting in Spokane, Washington for its 86th National Convention. At 2:00 pm, August 1, 2018, each of its members will stand at attention and salute their fallen comrades, each of whom is a Purple Heart recipient, as the remains of 55 American Patriots, missing in action during the Korean War, are returned to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Thus will begin the painstaking process of identification and return of these patriots to their families who have waited more than 65 years to learn of their fate.
On this somber occasion, members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Rainbow Chapter 483, many of whom are Korean War survivors, will join Vice President Pence, himself the son of a Korean War Veteran, as fifty-five American flag draped transfer cases are carried off the plane by two joint service honor guard details and arrayed in hangar 19 for the arrival ceremony. MOPH joins Vice President Pence who has said, "We will never forget the sacrifices these brave service members and their families made for our nation and our freedoms."
Lafayette native Ronald Crowley, Louisiana Department Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart, is in attendance at the Convention, and issued the following statement:
"It is with great humility that we stand to honor these fallen patriots. Their sacrifice has never been forgotten. May their families find peace knowing that they are now safe on the homeland, and that their legacy is remembered as one of courage and valor."
