Nonprofit designates purple parking spots for wounded veterans

Most parking lots have reserved premium spots for handicapped drivers, expectant mothers and sometimes even active duty military members. Now a nonprofit group is working to designate reserved parking spots for wounded combat veterans as a thank-you for their service.

Wounded Warriors Family Support, an Omaha, Nebraska-based group that helps families of injured or killed soldiers, is providing establishments with specially designed signs that designate reserved parking for wounded veterans.

The signs, which the group distributes for free, offer a simple salute to veterans that are often forgotten after reentering civilian life.

“They need to be remembered and honored for their sacrifice in service to our country,” Col. John Folsom, founder and president of Wounded Warriors Family Support, told The Huffington Post. “I see it as part of a healing of the spirit for our combat-wounded veterans.”

The group first came up with the idea for the reserved parking spots in 2012. The parking signs are illustrated with an image of the Purple Heart medal — which an estimated 1.8 million veterans have received — but all wounded military members can take advantage of the special parking.

To date, over 20,000 of the signs have been distributed across the country, Mr. Folsom told The Huffington Post.

Establishments interested in obtaining the signs for their community parking lots can simply apply online provide only the shipping costs and install the signs in compliance with Department of Transportation rules.

The signs are not official regulatory signs, but Mr. Folsom said he hopes people will use the “honor system” and leave the designated spots for veterans.

The signs have been popping up in parking lots across the country. In October, a ShopRite supermarket in New Jersey installed the signs with the help of a local veterans affairs committee. On Nov. 2, the Military Order of the Purple Heart shared on its Facebook page that employees at a Lowe’s Home Improvement Center in Florence, South Carolina, had recently erected the aluminum signs and were painting the parking spaces purple.

Earlier this month, officials in Warren, Ohio, installed a purple parking space outside the county municipal court building. City officials said they plan to install purple parking spots for wounded veterans at every government building.

“The combat-wounded … should hold a special place in everyone’s heart,” Herman Breuer, director of the nearby Trumbull County Veteran Services Network, told the local CBS News affiliate. “They spilled blood for our country.”