LONGMEADOW – The town of Longmeadow hopes to create a plaque or memorial listing the names of Purple Heart medal recipients living in the community.

The dedication could be staged on Aug. 7 in honor of Purple Heart Day.

Veterans’ Service Officer Jesus Periera told Reminder Publications he’s working to compile a list of residents who have received the Purple Heart – a medal given to members of the armed forces who have been wounded in battle. Thus far, at least five people living in town have been identified.

“We have quite a few Purple Heart recipients in town,” he explained. “At some point or another they were injured in service of their country and were awarded the Purple Heart.”

He added a volunteer is looking into the town’s history to find more Purple Heart recipients who had received medals in the past.

Periera said the town would also create Purple Heart signs at entrances to the community throughout town that would feature names of residents who received the medal.

“It’s just to recognize them and to say, “We’re not going to wait until you [pass away] to say thank you,’” he explained.

He said Purple Heart recipients in Longmeadow come from all walks of life – one person to receive a Purple Heart after serving during the Vietnam War is longtime School Committee member John Fitzgerald.

“We have one guy who received his Purple Heart 30 years after he was wounded,” Periera said. “So, during Vietnam he got his foot messed up with a mortar attack and then when he went to the Persian Gulf years later he was finally awarded the Purple Heart.”

Periera, a veteran who was deployed to Kuwait, said he believes in this day and age where protests are more common people should recognize veterans more – the people who “gave you that ability to do that.”

He added, “You wake up in the morning and you never think about or worry about being blown up or being shot at. Do I have to worry about an [improvised explosive device] going off in the supermarket? Those aren’t things we think of in America and it’s because of people like that who are willing to keep the fight abroad … We just want to take the time to say, ‘Thank you,’”

Any Purple Heart recipients who are residents of Longmeadow could contact Periera by calling 565-4150 or via email at jpereira@longmeadow.org.