Highway 280 in Pembroke is known as a Blue Star Memorial Highway as “a tribute to the armed forces that have defended the United States of America.”
Now, Highway
67 from the city’s southern limits to its northern limits is being designated
as a Purple Heart Highway, according to City Administrator Alex Floyd.
Those highways intersect in the center of Pembroke’s downtown, and Floyd said having
the Blue Star Memorial and the Purple Heart highways connect in the heart of the
city is appropriate, “because veterans are close to our hearts and we
appreciate all they do for our community.”
Floyd, who made the announcement during a July 4 ceremony at the J. Dixie Harn center, said the state is doing a survey of war memorials around Georgia and Highway 67 runs alongside Pembroke’s McEachin Square, which is named after William McEachin, who fought and died in World War I.
The square includes a memorial plaque, a cannon and a small park. It is also the site where the city and American Legion Post 164 erect flags and crosses on patriotic holidays.
Floyd said the signs recognizing Highway 67 as a Purple Heart Highway should be up by Veterans Day.