Mount Saint Mary College hosts patriotic concert honoring Purple Heart recipients

Orange County’s link to the Purple Heart will move from the history books to the stage when Mount Saint Mary College hosts Concert for America’s Heroes in Newburgh, a patriotic program built around the National Purple Heart Honor Mission’s annual tribute to combat-wounded veterans.

The concert is scheduled for Thursday, April 30, at 7 p.m. in Aquinas Hall Theatre, with doors opening at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are being sold through the National Purple Heart Honor Mission. The MidAtlantic Philharmonic Orchestra, under Maestro Jason Tramm, will perform a patriotic pops program tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States and the mission’s Purple Heart Patriot Project.

The event serves as the capstone for the 2026 Purple Heart Patriot Project Mission, a multi-day honor program running April 27 through May 1. The mission brings one Purple Heart recipient representing each state to the Hudson Valley for an all-expenses-paid series of visits and commemorations, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh, a private tour of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and the 9/11 Memorial.

Newburgh gives the concert a particular resonance. On August 7, 1782, George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit at his headquarters in the city, a decoration revived in 1932 as the Purple Heart. That local history is central to the National Purple Heart Honor Mission’s work, which it says helped establish and later expand the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor near West Point. The organization also says it played a role in creating the Purple Heart Forever stamp issued in 2014.

This year’s honorees add another layer of meaning. Among those recognized are Marine Corps Maj. James Capers Jr., described as the first African American to command a Marine Recon company and the first enlisted African American Marine Officer to receive a battlefield commission; Staff Sgt. Thomas Stormy Matteo, a six-time Purple Heart recipient who served in Vietnam; and Navy Petty Officer Second Class Steve Woelk, who was wounded during the capture of the USS Pueblo and spent 11 months as a prisoner of war.

For Mount Saint Mary College, the concert places the campus at the center of a public ceremony that ties Newburgh’s Revolutionary-era history to the sacrifices of service members from across the country. For the Hudson Valley, it is a chance to see that history honored in a visible, contemporary way, with veterans, students, and residents gathered in one room around the same story of sacrifice and recognition.