CLARKESVILLE, Ga. — For some veterans gathered in Habersham County Friday, the Purple Heart Appreciation Day luncheon offered something they did not receive when they returned home from war decades ago: a warm welcome and a room full of people who understood.
Vietnam veteran Ken Franklin said gatherings like the one held Aug. 7 at Habersham EMC give veterans a chance to connect over experiences that often remain invisible to the people they encounter every day.
“It’s the finding of the hearts of guys together, that only they know where they were and what they did,” he said. “They’re walking around everybody in the general public every day, and no one knows a thing. But when they come together, they open up, they talk. It gives them room and space, and they start feeling at home.”
The Habersham County Board of Commissioners hosted the barbecue luncheon for Purple Heart recipients, fellow veterans, spouses and guests. The event marked the county’s second annual Purple Heart Day observance.
A different kind of welcome home
The significance of this day is not lost on Franklin and his fellow Vietnam veterans. Many returned from war to a country deeply divided over the conflict and were often met with hostility, not gratitude.
“The guys that came home when I did met rocks, and eggs, and tomatoes, and bad lettuce, and cabbage, and stuff,” he said. “They weren’t respected when they got back.”
That experience, he said, left lasting wounds.
“That burned a bad place in the heart,” Franklin said. But being around others who served helps. “Getting together like this with guys that were there, that understand it, opens up, makes them feel more at ease, because they didn’t get a welcome home. But this makes it feel like people appreciate them.”
A few made it out alive
Vietnam veterans made up a large portion of Friday’s gathering, along with veterans from more recent conflicts in the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. Among them was Roy DeFoor, who traveled from Rabun County for the luncheon.
DeFoor was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam’s Central Highlands in 1968 and 1969. Recalling one particularly deadly period, he said he was among just 27 of 119 men left by the third day of fighting.
Asked what receiving the Purple Heart means to him, DeFoor’s answer was simple.
“Well, it means I love my country,” he said. “And I was willing to do whatever was necessary to protect our freedom.”
Food, fellowship and fewer formalities
Habersham County Clerk Brandy Carnes said commissioners wanted this year’s gathering to feel different from the inaugural ceremony. Last year’s observance was more formal. This time, county officials opted for barbecue, conversation and fellowship.
“This year we wanted it to be more of a relaxed atmosphere to get them all together with their veteran comrades,” Carnes said.
The result was another packed room.
Habersham County Commission Chairman Bruce Harkness estimated about 120 people attended, including 50 to 60 veterans and roughly 20 Purple Heart recipients.
“I firmly believe that we must honor and respect our veterans,” Harkness said. “I was so glad that our county could honor them.”
Harkness credited Carnes, Assistant County Clerk Patti McLarty and Public Information Officer Ashlyn Brady with organizing the event.
Carnes said the goal was to honor Purple Heart recipients while welcoming the larger veteran community and families of recipients who have died. “They’re a vital backbone of our community, our veterans are, and it’s just a great opportunity to just get them together and show how much we appreciate them.”
Habersham EMC provided the space for the luncheon at its headquarters on Highway 115 in Clarkesville. Carnes praised the cooperative for its continued support of county events and said staff went out of their way to help organizers, including finding a table for the traditional Missing Man display.
“We couldn’t have done this if we didn’t have a space like this,” she said.
The county provided lunch from Wolf Creek BBQ, along with a patriotic cake and other refreshments.
Building a tradition
Friday’s luncheon grew out of a commitment Habersham County made last year. On July 21, 2025, commissioners officially designated Habersham a Purple Heart County, joining communities nationwide that honor military personnel wounded or killed in combat. The designation also established Aug. 7 as Purple Heart Day in Habersham County.
The Purple Heart traces its history to George Washington’s Badge of Military Merit, established in 1782. The modern Purple Heart was revived in 1932 and is awarded in the name of the president to members of the U.S. military who are wounded or killed as a result of enemy action.
Habersham held its first Purple Heart Day ceremony and reception on Aug. 7, 2025, at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Cornelia. Veterans gathered for a formal program that included recognition of Purple Heart recipients and Taps.
This year, county officials wanted the observance to feel more like a reunion.
Carnes said the county intends to continue the event annually but may adjust how it is promoted so veterans understand that the invitation extends beyond Purple Heart recipients.
“We definitely want to recognize Purple Heart recipients, and we have a commitment to that, but we want to try to do stuff to recognize the whole veteran community,” she said.
A driving force behind the county’s Purple Heart designation, Carnes said organizing the annual gathering has reinforced for her how much it means to veterans.
“You can’t ask for a better community of people to do things for,” she said. “They’re so gracious and they’re always just happy that we’re doing anything for them.”
And for veterans like Franklin, it means a lot to share a meal and talk with people who understand where they have been.
And this time, they know they are welcome.
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