The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Honor Guard raised the Purple Heart flag at County Center in Redwood City on Friday, Aug. 7, marking the county's first-ever ceremony honoring service members wounded or killed in combat.

Purple Heart recipients joined county officials and community members at the 1 p.m. ceremony near the flagpoles at 500 County Center. District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe and staff from his office also attended.

The ceremony fell on the 244th anniversary of the Badge of Military Merit, established by General George Washington on Aug. 7, 1782, at his headquarters in Newburgh, New York. That badge evolved into the Purple Heart, which has been awarded more than 1.8 million times to U.S. Armed Forces members wounded or killed by enemy action.

Supervisor Ray Mueller, who co-sponsored the event with Supervisor Lisa Gauthier, said in a county press release ahead of the ceremony: "Behind every Purple Heart is a service member whose life was forever changed in defense of our country."

The San Mateo County District Attorney's office confirmed the event on its official X account, writing that Wagstaffe and staff were honored to attend the flag-raising and thanking the Sheriff's Honor Guard and county government for organizing the ceremony.

It was the first such observance in the county's history. As we reported Aug. 6, the flag-raising was announced as the county's inaugural Purple Heart Day event. Gauthier noted in the same press release that recipients "are our neighbors, friends, and community members," some carrying visible reminders of their injuries and others facing challenges less easily seen.

No individual recipients who attended were identified by name in county materials.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to issue a formal proclamation recognizing Purple Heart Day in San Mateo County at its Tuesday, Aug. 11 meeting. Mueller and Gauthier are co-sponsoring that proclamation.