Military
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On December 7, 2018, the Fletcher-class destroyer USS KIDD (DD-661), moored as a living museum in downtown Baton Rouge, was declared a Purple Heart Ship through the cooperation of the Mayor-President of the City-Parish of East Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart Red Stick Chapter 177. The Purple Heart Trail, established in 1992 by the Military Order of the Purple Heart, created a symbolic and honorary system of roads, highways, bridges, and other monuments throughout all 50 states and U.S. territories to honor men and women wounded or killed in combat while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Originating in Mount Vernon, Virginia, the burial place of George Washington, the trail is linked to the Purple Heart Medal, the nation’s oldest military medal, first created by General George Washington in 1782 as the Badge of Military Merit. The Purple Heart is a combat decoration awarded only to members of the armed forces of the United States who have been wounded or killed in action by an enemy of the United States. On April 11, 1945, while on radar picket duty 90 miles east of Okinawa, USS KIDD was struck by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft, killing 38 crewmen and wounding 55 more, with several others also injured but unreported because their wounds were considered minor beside those of their shipmates.
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Baton Rouge, Louisiana · United States
