Col. Thomas Burke, commander of the Kansas National Guards 130^th Field Artillery Brigade, Manhattan, will be the guest speaker at a dedication ceremony for a Purple Heart memorial in Holton, Kansas, May 6. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in Linscott Park, 4^th and Iowa St. The public is invited to attend and the ceremony will take place rain or shine.

The memorial will include the names of all Purple Heart recipients from Jackson County; currently, the list includes more than 160 names. Fundraising for the memorial was spearheaded by the American Legion Riders of Post 44, Mary L. Bair American Legion Post 44, Sons of the American Legion, and Holton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1367

Holton was designated as a Purple Heart City in April 2014, only the second community in Kansas to receive that designation. The town was entered into the national register of Purple Heart cities and recognized by the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a federally-chartered fraternal organization authorized by Congress.

The Holton armory is home to Battery A, 2^nd Battalion, 130^th Field Artillery, which was recently mobilized in support of Operation Spartan Shield.