The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U.S. military members. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York.
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798.
New Windsor is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 27,805 at the 2020 census. It is located on the eastern side of the county and is adjacent to the Hudson River and the City of Newburgh.
Newburgh is a city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located 60 miles (97 km) north of New York City, and 90 miles (140 km) south of Albany on the Hudson River within the Hudson Valley Area, the city of Newburgh is located near Stewart International Airport, one of the primary airports for Downstate New York.
The Badge of Military Merit was an award for non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Continental Army. It is largely considered America's first military decoration, and the second oldest in the world. Non commissioned officers and soldiers of the Continental Army were eligible. Now known as the Purple Heart Medal, it was redesigned and re-commissioned in 1932 by General Douglas MacArthur in honor of George Washington’s bicentennial.
United States law enforcement decorations are awarded by the police forces of the United States of America. Since the United States has a decentralized police force, with separate independent departments existing on the state and local level, there are thousands of law enforcement decorations in existence.
The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) was formed in 1900 by Governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the quarrying operations along the Palisades Cliffs of New Jersey. The Palisades, a National Natural Landmark that are also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. After its formation, the PIPC quickly moved to acquire the lands at the base of the Palisades to stop quarrying operations in both New York and New Jersey. The commission consists of ten commissioners, five appointed by each governor, and was ratified by an Act of Congress in 1937 when its interstate compact was approved. Today, the Commission owns and operates more than 125,000 acres of public parkland in New York and New Jersey including 21 state parks, 8 historic sites, and the Palisades Interstate Parkway. These parks are visited by more than 7 million people annually.
Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site, also called Hasbrouck House, is located in Newburgh, New York, United States, overlooking the Hudson River. George Washington and his staff were headquartered in the house while commanding the Continental Army during the final year and a half of the American Revolutionary War; at 16 months and 19 days it was his longest tenure at any of his headquarters during the war.
Daniel Bissell was a soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Bissell joined the British Army for 13 months and passed intelligence information to the Continental Army. For his efforts, Bissell was awarded the Badge of Military Merit by General George Washington.
New York State Route 300 (NY 300) is a state highway located west of the city of Newburgh in the Hudson Valley of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at a five-way intersection with NY 32 and NY 94 in the hamlet of Vails Gate. From there, it runs generally northwesterly through the towns of New Windsor, Newburgh, and Shawangunk, to a junction with NY 208 near the hamlet of Wallkill. NY 300's two major changes of direction are marked by slightly unorthodox intersections with other state highways.
The 124th New York Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Orange Blossoms, was a volunteer regiment from Orange County, New York, during the American Civil War. Formed in Goshen during the summer of 1862, The unit was officially mustered into United States Service on September 5, 1862, by Col. Augustus van Horne Ellis, the regiment was made up of volunteers from the surrounding towns and a core of veterans from the 71st New York State Militia.
The New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site, also known as New Windsor Cantonment, is located along NY 300, north one mile of Vails Gate, in the Town of New Windsor, Orange County, New York. The site features a reconstruction of the Continental Army's final military encampment.
Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site, in the town of New Windsor in Orange County, New York, consists of the Georgian house of the Ellison family, built in 1754 by immigrant William Bull of Hamptonburgh, NY, and the grounds around it. The site is located on Old Forge Hill Road, just south of Route 94 east of Vails Gate.
Bismarck Myrick is a former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia (1999–2002) and Lesotho (1995–1998). He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and a decorated Vietnam War hero. He represented the U.S. at the swearing in of South Africa's first democratic parliament, led by Nelson Mandela. The Kingdom of Lesotho conferred on him the Kingdom's highest honor to a non-citizen. Liberia's major newspapers and civil society organizations named him "Diplomat of the Year" or "Man of the Year" for three consecutive years. The City Council appointed him Goodwill Ambassador for Goree Island, Senegal in 2008. Portsmouth named two streets in his honor in 2001 and selected him as a 2006 "Portsmouth Notable" – the city's highest honor. He is featured in the March, 2013 edition of "The Citizen of Chesapeake" Newspaper. Active in community service, he is on a number of boards, such as the World Affairs Council.
The Edmonston House is a historic stone home located on NY 94 in the Vails Gate section of the Town of New Windsor in Orange County, New York. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
James Benjamin Peake was the sixth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving from 2007 to 2009. In 2004, he retired from a 38-year United States Army career. He also served as the 40th Surgeon General of the United States Army.
Jorge A. Otero Barreto is a former United States Army soldier. He earned 38 military decorations during his career. He has received recognition from numerous organizations and has had buildings named after him.
David Legge Brainard was a career officer in the United States Army. He enlisted in 1876, received his officer's commission in 1886, and served until 1919. Brainard attained the rank of brigadier general and served during World War I as U.S. military attaché in Lisbon, Portugal.
John Groff was a brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps whose military career spanned from 1912 to 1946. Groff was a highly decorated veteran of World War I, earning the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Purple Heart medals. He also participated in the Banana Wars, and World War II. At the time of his death in 1990 at age 100, BG Groff was the oldest surviving general officer in the Marine Corps.
Captain Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. was an American soldier who served in Korea and Vietnam. He was the first U.S. Army soldier to be killed in the Vietnam War. A street at Fort Lewis, Washington is named in his honor. He is buried at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.
