MONTGOMERY: Purple Heart ceremony to remember the fallen

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Montgomery Township officials will gather for a special ceremony on Sept. 19 to acknowledge the township’s designation as a Purple Heart Community and to honor two former township residents who were killed in military action – one in Iraq in 2006 and one in Vietnam in 1971.
The ceremony, which starts at 6 p.m., will be held at the Municipal Building. It is being held on the 11th anniversary of the combat death of U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Ashley L. Henderson Huff, who was killed in action in Iraq.
Members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart will attend the ceremony. Special plaques and presentations will be made honoring the memories of Lt. Huff and Specialist 4th Class Stephen H. Warner, who was killed in Vietnam.
Township Committee issued a proclamation declaring the township to be a Purple Heart community earlier this year, while also encouraging residents to show their appreciation for the sacrifices made by Purple Heart recipients.
The modern-day Purple Heart award grew out of the Badge of Military Merit, which was established by Gen. George Washington in 1782. It was to be given to soldiers who performed a "meritorious action." The badge was awarded to three soldiers, all of whom were sergeants, or non-commissioned officers.
The Badge of Military Merit was not given out after the Revolutionary War. It was revived in 1932, on the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birth, and became known as the Order of the Purple Heart.
Initially, the Purple Heart was given to soldiers who had been awarded the Meritorious Service Citation certificate or who were authorized to wear "wound chevrons" after April 5, 1917.
But after 1942, the Purple Heart was awarded to soldiers who were injured during combat, or who were killed in action or who died of wounds suffered in action. The award could be given posthumously to the soldier’s family members.
Lt. Huff, who graduated from Montgomery High School in 2000, was serving in Iraq as a military police officer and was helping to establish the Iraqi police force when she was killed. She had six weeks left on her deployment.
The 23-year-old U.S. Army officer, who is believed to be the first woman from New Jersey to be killed in action, was leading a mounted patrol through Mosul. An unknown vehicle rammed the armored vehicle in which she was riding and detonated more than 50 pounds of explosives.
Lt. Huff, who had recently married Brian Huff, was awarded several medals, including – posthumously – the Bronze Star, the Combat Action Badge and the Purple Heart.
SPC. Warner, who was killed in Vietnam in 1971, was serving with the U.S. Army’s 7th Public Information Detachment. His job was to write articles to print in a soldier’s hometown newspaper or to be broadcast on the local radio station.
SPC. Warner was scheduled to take a rest-and-relaxation break, but opted to stay with the unit. He was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) struck the front of the "Track" – a motorized vehicle – that he was riding on. Soldiers often rode on top of it because of the heat.