“Purple Heart” Echoes in Zanesville

The Zanesville Memorial Concert Band is ending its summer series at Zane Landing Park with a patriotic piece that brought many in the crowd to tears.

The piece, titled "Purple Heart (Faces of Bravery)", was composed for fallen soldier, Michael Cifuentes. Michael was killed in Iraq back in 2005 while serving with the Lima Company.

"When I wrote it, I put his picture right on my work board, my drawing board, and said Mike, give me some guidance. I wrote the piece in two days, " says composer, David Shaffer.

It was composed in the summer of 2006 after Shaffer met with Michael’s mother. Michael had been a five-year member of the Miami University band, which Shaffer conducts, playing the tuba.

"She made the comment, and it’s a common thought, that she’d be afraid her son would be forgotten, " says Gregory Cifuentes.

So after speaking with several students, Shaffer decided to create "Purple Heart" in memory of Michael’s sacrifice, along with so many others. It’s a piece that has been played across the country and even by some service bands.