The Purple Heart City commemoration ceremony included members of the Elks Lodge, Mission Objective Outdoors and the Military Order of the Purple Heart. (Photo by Henry Leasia)

The Municipality of Skagway held a ceremony on Thursday to recognize the community as a Purple Heart City. The designation aims to reflect the gratitude that local residents have expressed for veterans who were wounded or killed in combat.

Mission Objective Outdoors is a Skagway group that supports veterans who were wounded in the line of duty by challenging them to be active in the great outdoors. Last year the local non-profit brought six veterans to Skagway for a weekend of excursions. The trip was made possible by a grant secured by the Skagway Elks Lodge. 

John Knott III was one of the veterans from Fairbanks who attended. He says he was blown away by the community’s support. 

“It was such an overwhelming feeling of appreciation from the community. We got to the airport and it was like we were coming home from deployment. The community was there, clapping, handshaking and cheering us and it was overwhelming,” Knott says.

After he got home from Skagway, Knott reached out to Skagway resident Andrew Cremata with an idea. Knott is a Commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart for the State of Alaska, and he wanted Skagway to become a Purple Heart City. But what are Purple Heart Cities?

“It means that the communities care. They understand the sacrifices that we went through and that our families went through during the process of coming back from combat in the shape we came back in,” Knott says.

When Cremata became Skagway’s mayor he followed through and issued a set of proclamations recognizing Skagway as a Purple Heart City and September as Purple Heart Month. 

Members of the Skagway Elks Lodge and Mission Objective Outdoors attended the ceremony Thursday.

Dave Moncibaiz, the cofounder of Mission Objective Outdoors, says that it felt great to get some recognition from the mayor and appreciated his support since the non-profit was created.

“Mayor Cremata has been there every step of the way from the very infancy stages of Mission Objective. He was one of the ones who helped to make Mission Objective what it is,” Moncibaiz says. 

Right now 5 more veterans are visiting Skagway through Mission Objective Outdoors. Moncibaiz says they have done hiking, zip-lining and plan to do some glass blowing on Sunday. 

Skagway is one of nine cities and boroughs in Alaska that have been recognized by the Military Order of the Purple Heart.