HADLEY — Hadley will officially be recognized as a Purple Heart Town during a ceremony for Purple Heart Day Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Hadley Senior Center, 46 Middle St.

The ceremony, honoring recipients and including the signing of a proclamation, will be led by Brian Willette, a member of the state’s Military Order of Purple Hearts. It comes on Purple Heart Day, marking the Aug. 7, 1782 anniversary of when George Washington created the Purple Heart.

In one of her final acts during her 21 years on the Select Board, member Joyce Chunglo sought the designation that will include signs being posted at entrances to Hadley.

In a promotional video posted by Hadley Media, Steven Connor, director of Central Hampshire Veterans Services, said the signs entering town are “saying that you endorse the giving of the Purple Heart and that you are supportive of those veterans who have received Purple Hearts due to wounds and injuries while they served in the military.”

Connor noted the first Purple Heart recipient is buried in Middlefield, one of the communities his office serves, and which is among local Purple Heart Cities and Purple Heart Towns.

Others include Northampton, which received the designation in 2013, along with Holyoke, South Hadley, Granby, Williamsburg, Chesterfield, Worthington and Ware. In addition, a section of Route 202 in Holyoke from the Westfield line to the South Hadley line is a Purple Heart Trail.

— SCOTT MERZBACH