(FOUNTAIN, Colo.) — The Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) Chapter 423, located in Fountain, hosted an open house on Saturday, Aug. 10, in honor of National Purple Heart Day.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) is chartered by Congress. Chapter 423, named after James M. Selix, who was killed in action in Vietnam, was established in 1977 and is the largest MOPH chapter in Colorado, as well as one of the few with its own building.
The MOPH’s mission is to encourage goodwill and camaraderie between combat-wounded veterans, promote patriotism, support necessary legislative initiatives, and provide services to all veterans and their families.
“The Purple Heart, …our chapter and focus is on veterans, specifically military veterans with a Purple Heart, and helping them meet their needs if they have… they’re short on their rent or they’re having financial difficulties with their car needing to be replaced or repaired. That’s what we focus on to help them do that,” said Lieutenant Colonel Michael Epper, United States Air Force Retired, Treasurer of the Purple Heart Chapter 423 Fountain Colorado.
Chapter 423 serves all of Southern Colorado and is open to Purple Heart recipients for membership. Their spouses, children, and grandchildren are eligible to join the MOPH Auxiliary.
“By having this annual open house, we’re raising awareness of who we are, where we are, and more importantly, to find members, because not everybody knows about the Purple Heart Society, or that we have a local chapter here in Colorado,”
