A new monument and adjacent park bench erected on Veterans Plaza honor military members who were wounded or killed in combat. Ceremonies planned for Thursday, National Purple Heart Day, will shine a light on those the monument commemorates.
Mark Sierra — “Chef Mark” to most Boerne residents — a veteran and owner of Compadres Hill Country Cocina, spearheaded the effort to recognize the hundreds of Purple Heart recipients who live in the area.
“I just wondered why Boerne wasn’t considered a Purple Heart City, being that we have so many here,” Chef Mark said. “As soon as I found out that Fair Oaks (Ranch) was designated a Purple Heart City, we decided that this needed to happen.”
PURPLE HEART DAY CEREMONY
MONUMENT DEDICATION
• 9:30 a.m. Thursday Boerne Veterans Plaza
“Chef Mark” Sierra, left, and Purple Heart recipient Don McCullough lean on a purple park bench facing the recently installed Veterans Plaza Purple Heart monument, which reads, “They paid for our freedom with blood. All gave some, some gave all.”
Star photos by Jeff B. Flinn A little bit of digging led Chef Mark to find out that Boerne, apparently, had already been designated as a Purple Heart City, “but nothing was done with it,” he said.
“They never really got to it,” he said. “We wanted to do a proper dedication. So that’s why we did it.”
Boerne’s Purple Heart Project grew from that desire — to honor and support brave individuals who have received the Purple Heart and the families who bear the Gold Star.
“I am deeply committed to giving back to those who have given so much for our country,” Chef Mark states on the Purple Heart Project website. “Dalia (Sierra’s wife) and I started this journey with a simple yet profound vision: to honor Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families with a gesture of appreciation for their sacrifices.
“Our small effort,” he added, “has blossomed into an annual gala and numerous community activities, thanks to Dalia’s tireless work behind the scenes.”
First came the Purple Heart Gala, with the sixth annual event planned for Nov. 8 this year, growing by leaps and bounds with each passing year.
The city then posted signs declaring Boerne a Purple Heart City at the north and south entrances to town. “We’re going to be doing the east and west, on State Highway 46, so we’re going to have those brought in,” he said.
A thought then crossed his mind: Why not install a Purple Heart monument right here at Veterans Plaza? “It seemed only fitting, us being a Purple Heart City,” he said.
In June, the Purple Heart memorial — funded completely by private donations — appeared on Veterans Plaza, followed closely by a well-shaded purple park bench, situated facing the monument a few feet away.
Joining Chef Mark at Veterans Plaza last week was Don McCullough, a Fair Oaks Ranch resident and Purple Heart recipient.
In 1982, McCullough and his partner were in South America on temporary assignment for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“We were kidnapped at gunpoint out of our hotel rooms and were taken out into the jungle,” McCullough said. “I was shot three times and left for dead; my partner was shot twice and escaped.”
McCullough said he plans to be on hand for National Purple Heart Day Thursday.
Sierra said the event will include the Boerne Champion JROTC Color Guard, selections by the Friends In Harmony men’s chorus, the National Anthem from trumpeter Jim Manzo, a presentation by the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 1836, and a few words from Chef Mark before his Compadres opens for free lunches for all Purple Heart recipients and their families.
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