It's a small parking sign with a hard message: "Reserved Combat Wounded" in large letters. The Purple Heart, the first combat award to the common soldier, is in the middle. TMCC's Felipe Gutierrez saw one in Texas and called the national Purple Heart organization. "They told us what we had to do, they got us in contact with the local chapter here, and the ball just started rolling from there.”
A U.S. Marine who served in Iraq, Felipe knows how many stories of sacrifice it represents. Like TMCC student Dylan Grey, "A double-amputee, he's a Purple Heart recipient himself. He fought in Iraq and he’s a student here."
Veterans make up 7% of TMCC's student population. The college reserved a parking space with the sign and the concrete painted purple at the Red Mountain Building, set aside for Purple Heart recipients and others wounded in combat.
Veteran Ken Santor will use it. When he first saw the sign, his heart skipped a beat. To him, it stands for his buddies who didn't come back from Korea. As he told me, "It represents them, ok? They are the unsung heroes."
TMCC didn’t just decide to put the parking sign up. Colleges have to receive this honor from the Military Order of the Purple Heart. TMCC is the only Purple Heart school in Nevada. That title is given in recognition of a university’s support of military members, including veterans and their families. Zach Totans, the college’s veterans coordinator told me, "I did two tours in Iraq, and when I got this job I figured, ‘let's do everything we can do until somebody stops us’. And nobody's stopped us yet."
What is the college, and the sign saying to those who served? Felipe told us: "We remember you. We understand the sacrifice you made to this country."
The Purple Heart is the nation’s oldest military award, introduced by Gen. George Washington. It’s one of the most respected medals that U.S. military members can receive.
