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Dare County announced that a new plaque designating Roanoke Island as the first Purple Heart Island was installed at the Dare County Veterans Memorial, located at 300 Queen Elizabeth Avenue in Manteo, on Saturday, February 1, 2025.

Previously, during the Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting on Sept. 3, 2024, Lauren Wright Wallace, a local cultural anthropologist and Van of Valor co-founder, proclaimed Roanoke Island America’s first Purple Heart Island.

The proclamation she presented was unanimously adopted by the Dare County Board of Commissioners, and the commemorative plaque was ordered and installed in downtown Manteo by Dare County.

The Purple Heart Island plaque reads as follows:

“Roanoke Island has a large, highly decorated Active Duty and Veteran population including many Purple Heart recipients. It is with great admiration and the utmost respect for all of the men and women of Roanoke Island who have selflessly served their country in the U.S. Armed Forces that Roanoke Island is hereby proclaimed the first Purple Heart Island in appreciation for the sacrifices Purple Heart recipients have made in defending our freedoms, to recognize their valor and to show them the honor and support they have earned.”

Dare County Board of Commissioners 
September 3, 2024

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