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THE FIRST PURPLE HEART ASSOCIATION CONVENTION
October 6, 1933 (Day 1)
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Delegates from across the country attended the convention. Many of them were disabled or disfigured from wounds sustained from World War I.
Most delegates stayed at the Hotel Clark, which was next door to the Sterling Opera House.
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The states and chapters the delegates came from were as follows:
State
Chapter
California Los Angeles
Connecticut Derby
Massachusetts Boston
Massachusetts North Adams
Minnesota Minneapolis
Minnesota St. Paul
New Jersey Newark
New York New York City (Bronx)
Pennsylvania Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Pittsburgh
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Dignitaries present included Governors Wilbur L. Cross of Connecticut and Joseph B. Ely of Massachusetts. One Senator and three Congressmen from Connecticut were also in attendance, as was Peter Nugent, the National Vice-Commander of the Disabled American Veterans. (
The Evening Sentinel,
October 4, 1933 "Cities Take On Gala Attire for Convention Friday and Saturday")
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The convention opened at 1:30 PM on October 6, 1933, with over 60 delegates and many spectators.
(The Evening Sentinel
, October 6, 1933, "Purple Heart First National Convention Opens in Derby at Sterling Theater---Big Attendance" p.1).
The Bridgeport Post
wrote the following day "The convention opened yesterday with the Sterling Opera house taxed to its utmost to hold the crowd of veterans" (October 7, 1933, "Purple Heart Association Reelects Cushner Head", p.2).
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The
Evening Sentinel
wrote on October 7 that the first day's session "...was given over to the many matters that are incidental to the formation of a national organization, details of which had to be gone through before (the) organization was actually perfected". ("Big Purple Heart Parade in 3 Towns This Afternoon, p 1, 7).
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Also on the first day, Mrs. Mabel Patterson of Los Angeles, California, introduced the Purple Heart Auxiliary, which she formed in April of 1933, to the delegates (ibid, 7). The Purple Heart Auxiliary continues as a vital component to the MOPH to this day.
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Among the national committees appointed the first day were: Resolutions, Rules of Convention, Convention, and Constitutional Amendments. (ibid, 7).
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One of the highlights of the first day came when Secretary of the Pennsylvania State Department of the Purple Heart Association Raymond L. Cunneff, in a fiery address denounced the National Economic League. He accused the group of subsidizing writers "to falsify and malign the veteran and misrepresent him", stating "The truly disabled veteran is not a man with a tin cup. He asks only for a square deal. There are powers which are striving to force down the throats of the American people a distorted picture of those who spilled their blood on the fields of France while men now members of the National Economy League waxed fat on wartime profiteering". (
The Bridgeport Post
October 7, 1933, "Purple Heart Association Reelects Cushner Head", p.2).
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Mr. Cunneff also denounced General Hines of the Veteran's Bureau, as well as the Roosevelt administration's economic programs. Of the later, he stated "In the name of economy, have not only wrought injustice to blind and maimed veterans of the World War, but even cut the thinning ranks of the veterans of the Civil War" (ibid, 2).
October 7, 1933 (Day 2)
National officers were elected. They were:
Title
Name
Chapter
National Commander Frank J. Cusher
Ansonia, CT
Vice Commander Kimon Karelis
St. Paul, MI
First Jr. Vice Commander Joseph A. Marks
New York City
Second Jr. Vice Commander Marion F. Smith
Los Angeles
Third Jr. Vice Commander Col. James Tracy Potter
North Adams, MA
Fourth Jr. Vice Commander Howard J. Lepper
Newark, NJ
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Louis S. Jacobs of Philadelphia was named Chief of Staff and Chairman of the Regalia Committee by National Commander Cushner.
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Eight members were named to the National Legislative Committee, and five to the National Executive Committee. The Committee Members were drawn from all states present, and represented the first nationally representative Executive and Legislative boards of the Purple Heart Association. Honorary membership was granted to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the governors of all six states represented.
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A number of newspapers from throughout the region covered the convention. The Associated Press was also present.
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The convention concluded its business at Sterling Opera House at 1:30 PM. (
Evening Sentinel
October 9, 1933, "Cushner Renamed Purple Heart National Commander, p. 8). A parade witnessed by 50,000 people marched through Shelton, Derby, and Ansonia at the end of the convention. (ibid "Thousands Witnessed Purple Heart Pageant on Saturday", p. 8). The
New Haven Evening Register
wrote "Trumpets blared, drums rolled, and fifes shrilled as the auxiliary units designated for the parade starting at Shelton yesterday filed past the Sterling Theater here as the national convention of the Purple Heart delegates wound up this year's business and named the coming year's slate of national officers". ("Big Parade Climaxes Purple Heart Session" October 8, 1933, p.1
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