The Canes They Carry
- Vero Minute
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Right in our backyard sits the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to Navy SEALs and their predecessors — a fact that still surprises people who assume such a place would be in Virginia Beach or Coronado. But the frogmen who stormed the beaches at Normandy trained here first, on our sand, which makes the National Navy UDT/SEAL Museum more than a repository of artifacts. It's hallowed ground, and it's ours.
This Saturday afternoon (January 17), that ground will host one of the year's most moving public gatherings: the Purple Heart Cane Ceremony, where 58 combat-wounded veterans will receive hand-carved walking canes from local woodcarvers who've spent months preparing for this moment.
The recipients are traveling from 15 states to be here. Some served in World War II, others in Afghanistan. Gold Star families will accept canes for loved ones who didn't make it home. And hundreds of Treasure Coast residents will show up to bear witness—because that's what this ceremony has become over the years, a communal act of recognition for people who rarely seek it.
Lloyd Lasenby, who runs the Purple Heart Cane Project, is himself a Bronze Star recipient from the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. When he heard about similar carving projects in Michigan and Oklahoma, he knew the Treasure Coast needed one. That first ceremony featured two canes. More than 300 have been distributed since, each personalized with the recipient's name, rank, branch, location wounded, and every decoration earned. The woodcarvers meet every Tuesday to work on them—bald eagle heads carved from blocks of lumber, built to bear actual weight.
This year's keynote speaker is David Bellavia, who received the Medal of Honor for clearing a three-story house full of insurgents in Fallujah, room by room, on his 29th birthday. Master Chief Rick Kaiser, formerly of SEAL Team 6 and now the museum's executive director, will also address the crowd.
Staff Sgt. David Bellavia
George Washington created the Purple Heart in 1782, calling it the Badge of Military Merit. It remains the oldest military decoration awarded to those wounded or killed in combat, which means Saturday's ceremony spans more than two centuries of American sacrifice—all converging on one afternoon here, where we're privileged enough to witness it.
The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. at 3300 N. Highway A1A. It's free and open to the public. Past years have drawn capacity crowds, so arrive early.
