By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
After more than a year, a stretch of M-15 in Ortonville will be designated as the Purple Heart Trail.
The bill, now Public Act 543 of 2018, was introduced on May 22, 2018 and signed by Gov. Snyder in December.
“The Purple Heart Trail is a visual reminder to honor our military members who have been awarded the Purple Heart Medal,” said State Rep. John Reilly (R-District 46), who introduced the bill. “Here in Ortonville, we salute a record 72 Purple Heart recipients. Their range of military service includes World War II, Vietnam, Korea, and the Persian Gulf.”
The Village of Ortonville became a Purple Heart Community on Aug. 1, 2016.
“This highway designation honors the men and women who served in the military, that their sacrifice for our enduring freedom is not forgotten, and indeed is memorialized as an integral part of our Ortonville heritage,” said Reilly.
Ortonville VFW 582 Commander Dennis Hoffman spearheaded the Purple Heart project and researched local recipients over the past 150 years.
“It’s an honor for the community to be designated,” said Hoffman. “Ortonville is now the only one in Oakland County with a registered section of highway for the trail. The section will be from the village limits north and south. The post would like to thank Rep. Reilly for all his efforts in making this happen.”
Currently the Michigan Department of Transportation is creating signs to be placed at the village limits.
Included in the Purple Heart community are: five Purple Heart recipients from the Civil War; three from World War I; 32 from World War II; four from the Korean War; 28 from Vietnam, one from Iraq and two from Operation Enduring Freedom.