MATTAPOISETT — Six individuals who were either killed or wounded while serving in the military were honored during a Purple Heart recognition ceremony Saturday, Aug. 10 at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library.

It was the first event of its kind held in Mattapoisett, according to Ray Hanks, chair of the town’s Cemetery Memorial Advisory Committee. National Purple Heart Day was Wednesday, Aug. 7. Purple Hearts are awarded to service members who have been killed or injured by enemy combat.

Two veterans wounded during the Vietnam War were honored at the ceremony, while family members accepted the recognition honors for four deceased individuals who had fought in either World War II or the Korean War.

The first honoree was Barry A. Alves, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War. 

A Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient, Alves was severely wounded while saving several wounded fellow soldiers under fire, according to Hanks.

“Barry is the humblest man on the planet,” Hanks said.

Barry J. Denham, also a veteran of the Vietnam War who served in the Army, was honored too.

Chris Gerrior, the Tri-Town’s veterans’ agent, spoke about Denham, who was a recent graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School when he received a draft notice in 1969.

Denham was deployed to Vietnam in 1970, and his main mission was to build an 80-foot bridge on a highway, according to Gerrior.

His unit was struck by an improvised explosive device, Gerrior said.

“There was an explosion,” Denham recounted, according to Gerrior. “I was floating in the air, and then I landed in a hole in the ground.”

Two soldiers landed on Denham, and nobody in the unit was killed, according to Gerrior.

“Everyone was hurt and everyone was stunned, but everyone was alive,” Gerrior said.

Denham helped evacuate the wounded before returning to base for treatment himself, eventually receiving a Purple Heart for his injuries, according to Gerrior. 

Susan Akin accepted the Purple Heart recognition on behalf of her late father, Roger E. Kelley, who served in the Army during World War II.

“He was supposed to go to war as an interpreter, because he spoke fluent French,” Akin said. “Instead they gave him a weapon and sent him to the Battle of the Bulge where he was wounded.”

Kelley laid in the cold all day during winter waiting for rescue, Akin said. 

“He thought it was over,” Akin said. “Someone came by and gave him a winter coat to cover him. Finally, after a day they came and took him.”

Dan White, Mattapoisett’s town media manager, spoke about Edward D. Kinney, who served in the Army during World War II.

White knew Kinney through his own father, also a veteran, and said Kinney was a “great” and “down to earth guy.”

“He was a wonderful man, and I learned more stuff from him than I did in school, I swear,” he said.

White also read a letter sent by Kinney’s grandson Dennis Millette, a retired Marine. 

“It was his forever playfulness and fierce loyalty that is to be remembered,” Millette’s letter said. 

Kinney was wounded during a campaign in the Philippines, according to Millette. 

“He is my hero and to many others, I’m sure,” Millette’s letter said.

Also honored was Allen H. Bowman, who served in the Army and was killed in the days following D-Day, according to Hanks.

John R. Duff, who served during World War II and the Korean War, was the final Purple Heart recipient honored at the ceremony.

Duff was “very well-respected” and “a great role model,” his granddaughter Keri Lynn Duff said.

“He was a great guy, and he was the nicest guy in the world,” she said.