WESTFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - The city of Westfield held its Purple Heart Recognition Day ceremony at Kane-Wojtkiewicz Park on Thursday. The Purple Heart is a military award for service members who were wounded or killed while serving.

Thursday’s event was held in Wojtkiewicz Park, named in the honor of Chief Petty Officer and U.S. Navy Member Frank P. Wojtkiewicz. He was killed when the Battleship Arizona was bombed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was the first Westfield man to lose his life after American forces opened fire against Japan.

“When you look at the world we are living in today, it’s a dangerous place. It always has been really, but we are facing a situation in this world where the United States is going to be a key player no matter what happens anywhere,” said Mike Ro

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