Signs referencing Washington’s status as a Purple Heart State will be going up soon around the state, according to a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The signs are part of the Purple Heart State Washington Highway Sign Campaign, a program created by House Bill 1250, sponsored by Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama.
No signs have yet been installed. According to a Washington State Department of Transportation spokesperson, five signs are on order. Two will be placed on Interstate 5 in the Olympia area, and three will be placed in Southwest Washington on Interstate 5, Highway 101 and Interstate 205.
The first signs are a result of donations from Centralia resident Mary Astrid, who gave $1,100 in memory of Robert Hanson, who was killed in the South Pacific during World War II; and from the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 1889, which donated money to place signs on three entrances to Southwest Washington.
Astrid was the most vocal supporter of the legislation and is a steadfast advocate of recognition for veterans.
The Purple Heart signs do not have specified installation dates. Rather, they will be placed simultaneously with road work done by the Washington State Department of Transportation in the relevant areas. The department said the signs are expected to be placed in about a month.
The Washington State Department of Transportation does not directly collect the funds for the Purple Heart signs. Instead, funds are raised by the state Department of Veterans Affairs through donations.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the signs cost $1,000 to $1,100.
The department’s website says, “Donors who fully sponsor a sign will receive a certificate to display in office locations and on social media sites.”
The department’s first priority is to use donations to place signs at the 34 highway entrances to the state, although it will place signs at other highway locations should an organization fully sponsoring a sign make such a request.
For more information or to make a donation to the Purple Heart State Washington Highway Sign Campaign, visit www.dva.wa.gov/purpleheartstate.
