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A trail of remembrance
Posted by Raven on November 11th, 2005
The Purple Heart Trail runs through many of the state’s towns. It was created in 2004 as part of a national effort to have a Purple Heart Trail in every state; about 15 states have them now, said David Smith, the trail coordinator for New Hampshire’s chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. It’s meant to memorialize veterans wounded in battle, but Smith says it has a resonance for all veterans -in fact, for everyone.
For Smith, who is also a Democratic state representative for Nashua, helping with the creation is part of a journey that began in 1968, when he was wounded in Vietnam.
“I was on top of a mountain which we controlled the top and the enemy controlled the sides,” he said. “There were a little over 100 of us up there. One night, we were overrun at about 9, 10 o’clock in the evening, and the next morning, when the clouds lifted, daylight appeared, over 50 percent of the people on top were killed, and the other 50 or so that were there, half were wounded.”
Smith was evacuated to Japan and recovered from his wounds in Chelsea Naval Hospital in Massachusetts. When he returned home to Canaan, he was surprised by what he considered the hostile attitude towards veterans. A few days after he got home, his mother told him the United States had no business being involved in Southeast Asia.
“After Vietnam, I went into hiding,” he said. “. . . The spirit against the war was so overpowering in 1968 that anyone that was affiliated with that war in any way was looked down upon as being not truly in the best interest of the country.”
Smith spoke very little of his service until the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“I just vowed up and down to myself that never, never again, if I had anything to do with it, would a veteran be treated anyway close to the way I was treated when I came home,” he said.
He now belongs to every veterans organization he can, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and the Disabled American Veterans. Of all the groups, he’s found the Purple Heart recipients to be unique in that they seldom discuss their war experiences and hardly ever mention rank.
“There’s a common condition among these men and women that they all shed blood for their country,” he said. “And that makes them equal.”
The signs placed along the trail serve as small reminders for travelers of the sacrifices of all veterans, Smith said. But it also seems to have awakened some reticent Purple Heart recipients.
“I’m getting calls from people who hold the Purple Heart that never joined (the Order of the Purple Heart,)” he said. “And that’s part of it too, to bring these people out and say, ‘It’s okay to say that you served. It’s important, whether you know it or not.’”
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November 11th, 2005 at 8:06 am
Veterans’ Day, 2005
Today is the day that our country sets aside to give due honor and thanks to the men and women who have so faithfully served their country. Ever since our country was founded 229 years ago, men and women have stepped forward selflessly to stand for Ame…
November 11th, 2005 at 9:49 am
Thanks you Raven. You just brought tears to the eyes of a Vietnam vet who carries schrapnel in his back that cannot be removed.
June 10th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
I have noticed the markers for a couple of years and wondered what the story was. It was a great idea and I am gladto see it becoming a reality. My brother-in-law served in Vietnam, but there were enough of family around to love him when he returned. My heart goes out to veterans everywhere. We owe them our very lives!!
September 11th, 2006 at 1:07 am
I was just this past week traveling on the I-40 through Arizona and New Mexico. I kept seeing the signs posted “The Purple Heart Trail” My friend and I kept wondering, what does the sign mean? What is the significance? I went on line tonight, as soon as I got home, to find out what it was all about. I wonder if there might not be some way that you might be able to post a bill board or something, to tell people along the highways, just what the “Purple Heart Trail” is.We were both equaly interested, but some what in the dark to what you were trying to say with these signs. I am glad that I took the time to check it out, but a lot of people won’t go to the trouble to do so. I believe in your efforts, I think each and every USA citizen should know of your efforts and should remember our men that gave of themselves to protect our country.I just think that if there was a way to post something, even if it just said………REMEMBER THE MEN THAT GAVE THEIR LIFE FOR YOU……and after that, when I would see “The Purple Heart Trail”, I would know just what I was seeing, and I would remember…Thanks for listening.
October 9th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
I noticed the signs for several months that were posted this year on I-35 south of Fort Worth, Texas, but could not find anyone who could tell me what they meant. Until I finally remembered just now to go online and learn the meaning, I had no idea of the significance. Is there some way to get the message out there more prominently as to the meaning behind the signs?
March 15th, 2007 at 10:38 am
P.H. trail in New Hampshire a contact #.