This Month is National Military Appreciation Month. We should be honoring and appreciating our marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen all year long, but if you haven’t been doing so yet, now’s a good time to start.
I’m going to get into some suggestions for supporting our men and women in uniform in a second, but first, I wanted to show some videos. This first video, a tribute to the Marine Corps, made me cry. I’m so grateful and appreciative to all of our troops, but obviously I have a soft spot for the Marines. Mainly, my significant other is a Marine. My dad was — is — a Marine. My cousin’s fiance is a Marine. So yeah, maybe I’m a little biased. 😉
Finally, a video of the US Army chorus singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” for President and Laura Bush’s welcoming of Pope Benedict XVI to the White House. Amazingly, awe-inducingly beautiful. The entire song will give you goosebumps, but the last two minutes are especially moving.
Now, as to what you can do. Here are twelve suggestions from the Military Appreciation Month website:
These are all good steps to take, so please do some or all of these things over the course of this month. Especially consider adopting a soldier through Soldiers Angels. These men and women do so much for us… is it really such a sacrifice for us to go through the next month and a half doing all we can to show them our gratitude?
Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers Angels, is who declared the period of May 1 – June 14 National Military Appreciation Month. We’ll close with her declaration. Please remember to take action this month to show our military how appreciated they are.
WHEREAS, The freedom and security that citizens of the United States enjoy today are direct results of the blood shed and continued vigilance given by the United States Armed Forces over the history of our great nation; and
WHEREAS, the sacrifices that such members of the United States Armed Forces and of the family members that support them, have preserved the liberties that have enriched this nation making it unique in the world community; and
WHEREAS, the United States Congress, in two thousand and four, passed a resolution proclaiming May as National Military Appreciation Month, calling all Americans to remember those who gave their lives in defense of freedom and to honor the men and women of all of our Armed Services who have served and are now serving our Country, together with their families; and
WHEREAS, the months of May and June were selected for this display of patriotism because during these months, we celebrate Victory in Europe (VE) Day, Military Spouse Day, Loyalty Day, Armed Forces Day/Week, National Day of Prayer, Memorial Day, Navy Day, Army Day and Flag Day;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Patti Patton-Bader, Founder of Soldiers’ Angels, do hereby proclaim the period May 1, through June 14, 2009 as a special time to show appreciation for our Military and proclaim it as NATIONAL MILITARY APPRECIATION MONTH
Patti Patton-Bader
Founder, Soldiers’ Angels
Bob says: If you are anywhere near the Dallas/Ft Worth, TX area…
http://www.dfwairport.com/heroes/index.php
I’ve done this before. Great group of people, and serving a worthy cause!
Thank you for this. Seems too easy we forgot the cost of our freedoms.
I would like to have seen a tribute to the National Guard, but well done non-the-les..
To our heroes!!!
Tish Cooper says: Another great site is http://www.tellthemthanks.com
This is where you can “adopt” a service member serving overseas and “tell them thanks” by sending them letters. The overseas service members can sign up asking to be “adopted” by someone here in the US. There are many soldiers on the waiting list who just want to hear from someone.
The only requirement is to write one letter a month. That’s nothing compared to what these courageous people are doing for us. You can send more than one letter a month and can send care packages or snacks, but it isn’t required. The site also has a blog.
This is a great cause and I encourage you to post this on your site as well.
CaptDMO says: As usual, I’m a day late, and a dollar short.
By proclamation, commencing with the ceremony on May 2 2009, The Town of Conway NH will hereinafter honor and fly the Silver Banner on every First of May. A Silver Star flag to be flown in honor of ALL service members
(yep, including the Coast and National Guards) disabled, incapacitated, or otherwise messed up (think Agent Orange and PTSD) while in service to the United States.
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