|
Kup’s Purple Heart Cruise is hosted by Kup’s Purple Heart Foundation, a recognized 501(c)(3) organization.
Kup’s Purple Heart Cruise and the corresponding morning ceremony will take place in South Gate Park, at the entrance to Navy Pier, located at 600 E. Grand Avenue in Chicago, Il.
|
|
In 1945, as World War II was ending, Irv Kupcinet began a Chicago tradition that would live for 50 years. Dismayed at the large number of troops returning home from the battlefields of Africa, Asia and Europe with life-altering injuries, Kup would often speak of his childhood memories of large numbers of troops returning home from World War I with similar injuries.
These memories stayed with him and in the summer of 1945, through his column in the Chicago Sun (it wouldn't become the Sun-Times until it merged with the Chicago Daily Times a few years later), he orchestrated the first “Purple Heart Cruise.” The cruise instantly became a Chicago institution, one that would last for half a century. One day each year, veterans from all over Illinois would be treated to a relaxing and entertaining cruise on Lake Michigan. The ship may have changed from year to year, but the purpose of the cruise remained the same - to show our veterans how much we appreciate their sacrifice. In 1995, due to his advancing age, Kup retired the cruise.
On, July 31, 2007, Kup's grandson, David, successfully re-launched Kup's Purple Heart Cruise aboard The Odyssey cruise ship at Navy Pier. |
