Retired Major General Jerry R. Curry will be the speaker at the 2014 Purple Heart Dinner in Wake Forest where several area Purple Heart recipients will be honored. The current count is 38 recipients bringing about 175 family and friends as guests with them.
The dinner will be held Saturday, Aug. 9, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church on Capital Boulevard. Tickets are $15 and are available now at the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce or by writing to Greg Harrington, a former chairman and one of the founders of the local Purple Heart Foundation, at mgregh@nc.rr.com. Youcan also call or email Mandy Duguid, 919-801-5108 and mandyduguid@gmail.com. The dinner is free to Purple Heart recipients and their families.
General Curry is the author of a newly published book, “From Private to General: An African-American Rises Through the Ranks.” Curry grew up in Liberty, Penn., and is married to his childhood sweetheart, Charlene Cooper. He is a decorated combat veteran, a U.S. Army aviator, paratrooper and pilot who enlisted as a private.
The dinner, which began in Wake Forest in 2009, has become wildly popular and widely praised.
Entertainment will be provided by the 440th Army Band based in Morrisville.
