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Motorcycles, Travel & Adventure |
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Motorcycle TourMagazine |
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About Big City Getaway Looking for a simple day trip? Just a neat destination to give you an excuse to ride? We bet some days you are. That is what Big City Getaway is all about. There are great roads and interesting destinations all around. Every month we’ll give you one in Big City Getaway. |
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National Purple Heart Hall of Fame 374 Temple Hill Road, Vails Gate, NY 12584 • 845-561-1765 |
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Rip & Ride • Purple Heart Hall of Honor From New York City - Take GWB Palisades Interstate Parkway to exit 15 Gate Hill Rd. Hard left at Cedar Flats Rd/SR 69 Right at Queensboro Rd Left at Mott Farm Rd/SR 118 Hard Left Rte. 9W North Side trip through West Pont – Excellent Idea! Continue up Rte. 9W Left at Quaker Ave/SR 107 Right at Rte. 32 Cross at Rte. 94 to Rte. 300/Temple Hill Rd. To Purple Heart Hall of Honor on right |
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Located not far from the great halls of West Point is the village of Vails Gate, New York and it is here that you will learn the story and the honor of being awarded this medal. The Badge for Military Merit The original Purple Heart award was instituted by George Washington in 1782 to reward troops for "unusual gallantry" and "extraordinary fidelity and essential service." The award was a purple cloth heart edged in silver braid, and was to be worn over the left breast of the uniform. Only three awards are known to have been issued, of which two are known to exist today. The Purple Heart as we know it today was reestablished in 1932 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. The original criteria for award of the Purple Heart as published in the War Department Circular No. 6 of February 22, 1932 states that the medal be awarded to anyone serving in the Army who had received combat-related injuries or had received the AEF's Meritorious Service Citation Certificate during WWI, the latter criteria harkening back to the intent of George Washington's "Badge of Military Merit". These days far too many Purple Hearts have been awarded, and the exact number is not really known, but each one was special and needs to be acknowledged. How can you do this? Well, take an afternoon and visit The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Located among some of the finer roads in the Hudson Valley the Hall of Honor is wonderfully created and walking its halls will give you a deeper grasp of just how many men’s and women’s lives have been forever altered by the dogs of war.
The short film is well worth watching and we know we rode away that afternoon with hearts that were both heavy and heartened by the knowledge that such women and men existed and still do to this day. If you have the time visit New Windsor Cantonment which was the site of the final encampment of America's first army at the close of our country's War of Independence; Thus a fitting place for this Hall of Honor. While riding in this area please make it a point to stop by The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor; you owe it to yourself and to those who fell before us allowing for us to make this journey. |
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For those of you who have known battle this will be a very special place, for you understand, far more than others who have been fortunate enough not to know battle, just how important The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is. 
The wall with the murals of all the American battles and the numbers injured or killed is staggering and most humbling as well.