Visit Us

The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor offers visitors an incredible journey through military history as well as reminders of human sacrifice and the cost of freedom. We invite you to visit our newly expanded facility in New York's Hudson River Valley.

wayfinding map

The Visitor Experience

Welcome Corridor

welcome corridor

Our main entry corridor is anchored by this beautiful sculpture of a wounded soldier being carried to safety by two comrades. Here, visitors will learn about the evolution of the Purple Heart medal and the Museum's connection to this location, from the American Revolution to Temple Hill Day, May 28, 1932.

From enlistment to injury, through treatment and homecoming, each Purple Heart recipient faces a different path. Visitors will have the opportunity to follow featured Purple Heart Recipients along their Journey in our galleries.

Purple Heart Hall of Honor staff at the Welcome Desk will provide you with a brief orientation and encourage you to experience your self-guided tour of the galleries at your own pace. Staff are available to answer questions, assist with our Roll of Honor database and the enrollment process.

New handicapped accessible restrooms, our newly designed program space and exhibit galleries are all located on the first floor of the museum.

Event/Program Space
Our Program Space is located on the first floor of the Museum and is designed to accommodate Group Tours, School Programs and Hall of Honor special events.

Galleries

The Purple Heart Journey Interactives

Throughout our galleries there are Purple Heart Journey Interactive stations which follow featured recipients throughout their Journey: From entering service, to the day of the incident, during care and treatment, on the road to recovery, or to the ultimate sacrifice. Visitors will experience this journey through stories, letters, documents, images, audio and video clips of Purple Heart recipients sharing their stories. In addition, there are Personal Story cases highlighting six extraordinary Purple Heart recipients.

Where The Journey Begins

This gallery features stories, interactives, images and a short film about deployment. It represents the path from entering service, through training and deployment.

Timeline Exhibit
The Timeline corridor offers a photographic representation of America's major 20th and 21st century military conflicts. Each conflict is separated by a case highlighting one of the five branches of service. The timeline interactive offers visitors the opportunity to learn about the full range of conflicts for which there may be Purple Heart recipients.

Deployment Film (silent 11-minute film)
This approximately 11-minute silent film features images of military personnel being deployed overseas.

Temporary Exhibit (Purple Heart Women)
The Hall of Honor has a Temporary Exhibit case which offers us the opportunity to provide rotating, subject focused exhibits.

The Roll of Honor

Visitors may sit at one of the six computer stations and access The Purple Heart Roll of Honor by engaging with our interactive computer database. The Roll of Honor is an ongoing work in progress. As we build the nation's first comprehensive database of Purple Heart recipients, we greatly appreciate your assistance in collecting accurate information on all whose names and stories should be remembered here. Enrollment Form (pdf)

Please note: The Roll of Honor profiles, images, videos and documents are the property of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Written permission is required for the use of these materials.

The Day Of The Incident:

This gallery features cases highlighting the day of incident through images, documents, letters and personal recollections of Purple Heart recipients.

Care And Treatment:

This area presents images, documents, stories and artifacts highlighting the nature of care and treatment of the wounded over our Civil war through today timeline.

Road To Recovery:

This area provides the visitor to learn about how recipients deal with the long-term consequences of their injuries.

Ultimate Sacrifice:

This gallery area commemorates Purple Heart recipients who have lost their lives due to enemy action.

Group Visitation at the Hall of Honor

Group visits are welcome and encouraged at the Hall of Honor. Organized group visits fall in to two categories: Adult Groups and Educational Groups. Educational groups include schools, camps, Scouts and other organizations which serve student aged visitors. Advanced reservations are required for all organized group visits

Please Note
New York State Historic Sites are largely accessible. Please let us know if anyone in your group has any mobility issues. If your group does have members with limited mobility, please let us know in advance so that we can plan accordingly.

Bus Parking
There are several spaces reserved for buses in the parking lot in front of the building. Please do not leave bus engines idling.

Eating on Site
No food, drinks or chewing gum in the building please. In fair weather, there are picnic tables outside on our grounds. Please leave all food on the bus, or consult the staff about an appropriate area for storing them until lunch time. If you would like information on local restaurants, please speak with a staff member. No food or drinks are sold on site, but water fountains are available.

Photography Policy
Photographs and video images (indoor or outdoor) may be taken by visitors exclusively for personal, non-commercial use only.
Indoor photography is permitted without flash as the light from flashes can damage old and fragile artifacts.

Commercial Photography
All commercial uses of photographs or video images is strictly prohibited without written permission from the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor.

The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor reserves the right to prohibit or rescind permission for any photography, video or filming for any reason including, but not limited to any activity which creates the potential for:

Please Note
The Badge of Military Merit is a copyrighted image and may not be used without written permission of the State of New York.

Cancellations & Changes to Your Visit
If you must cancel or change any details of your visit (e.g., arrival time, number in group, etc), please alert us as soon as possible by calling 845-561-1765 . If possible, please speak directly with a member of the staff. After hours, please call this number and leave a message on ext. 10.

Adult Group Visits

Please note: A minimum of 10 participants are required to book this program.

Soldiers Across Time: Educational Group Program

School, Camp, Scout, Church Youth groups, etc.

Please note: A minimum of 10 participants are required to book this program.

The Hall of Honor not only seeks to preserve the stories of Purple Heart recipients, but to educate visitors about the award and the recipients. Our "Soldiers Across Time" educational program looks at the evolution of the Purple Heart through the changing nature of America's military history as seen through lens of the common soldier, sailor and airman. Group participants will learn about soldier life and equipment from the Civil War to the current time.

As an educational program, "Soldiers Across Time" supports New York State Social Studies Curricular themes of Time, Continuity, and Change; Geography, Humans, and the Environment; and Power, Authority, and Governance. In addition the program provides an opportunity to apply the Social Studies practices of Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence; Chronological Reasoning and Causation; and Comparison and Contextualization.

Chaperone Policy: For groups of students/children, we strongly recommend a ratio of 1 chaperone for every 10 children.

Gift Shop
The Gift Shop is located behind the Welcome Desk. Visitors will pass through the Gift Shop upon exiting the museum galleries.

When visiting with students, please chaperone them in this area. Due to its size, we recommend admitting no more than 4 students at a time into the shop and ask that group chaperones oversee these logistics.

If you are also visiting the New Windsor Cantonment's outdoor living history area, we suggest dressing for the weather (including footwear).

Museum Manners
If you are guiding or chaperoning groups of young visitors, please remind everyone before arrival of the following rules:

Gift Shop

Visit the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Gift Shop to find a distinct selection of merchandise, including: toys, puzzles, books, postcards, magnets and more.





Location

  • The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor
  • 374 Temple Hill Road (Route 300)
  • New Windsor, NY 12553
  • (845) 561-1765

Hours

  • Monday - closed
  • Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  • Sunday: 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
  • Please call for Holiday Hours

Visitors with Special Needs

  • Motorized wheelchairs permitted
  • Handicap accessible restrooms
  • Elevator