Military Appreciation Month

[ 2 ] May 7, 2009 | Amanda

May is Military Appreciation Month. We have Armed Forces Day, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, and Memorial Day as highlights this month.

For Armed Forces Day, on May 16th here in the Harrisburg area, there will be a celebration on City Island. There will be activities for the whole family. I know my boys will get a kick out of seeing whatever equipment is there on display. We’ll take a trip down if it’s not raining. It’s a rain or shine event, but for our family, we’ll skip it if there’s rain. The Army Heritage and Education Center will have Army Heritage Day also on May 16th. They will have living history demonstrations and a WWII panel discussion with veterans. My family may have to hit both events as I’m very interested in the WWII panel with the veterans. My grandpa fought in WWII and told some awesome stories. The Heritage Center also has an outdoor path I’ve seen driving by with bunkers, equipment, etc. that you can walk and explore. That’s something the kids will enjoy.

Friday May 8th is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. If you’re a spouse, check your local installation for events. Our commissary is having a cake cutting and there will probably be other things there. They also have a case lot sale going on that day, so there’s sure to be a crowd.

Then we have Memorial Day. This will be our first Memorial Day in this town so I’m not sure how they “do it up” here. Back home we always had the parade then went to the cemetery. After that it was back home or to a friend’s to barbecue. While it’s great that Memorial Day is a day that families get together and have picnics, please don’t forget to take a moment to remember our fallen troops as that’s what the day is truly about. I especially think about my grandpas and my husband’s friend that was killed in Iraq. If you have someone you’d like to memorialize in a bracelet, check out HeroBracelets.org. I also see now they have a couple options in tags for those who would prefer necklaces. I ordered our memorial bracelets and my deployment bracelet for DH way back not too long after they first started. They also donate money from every bracelet to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

If you’re down in Florida, the weekend of May 14-17 is EscaRosa Independence Weekend. It’s being held in the Pensacola Bay area. If you’re in the area, think about attending. Events will include a 25 mile bicycle ride for wounded veterans and participants, a 5k family fun walk/run, an informational seminar led by a panel of wounded veterans, and a benefit concert presented by wounded Marine and rising country music star Stephen Cochran.

In addition to honoring these service members and their families, EIW is being organized to raise funds to help support the unmet needs of seriously wounded veterans. Proceeds and donations raised during Independence Weekend will be used to support the needs of our wounded veterans and to provide tools, therapies, and guidance to help restore their independence and enhance their quality of life. These proceeds will be administered by the Independence Fund, Inc., a non-profit charity.*

*The information on EscaRosa Independence Weekend was provided by Karen from A Blog of Goodies and 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

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Category: Army

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Kristine says:

May 15, 2009 at 3:29 am

Hi! My name is Kristine and I am a coordinator for EscaRosa Independence Weekend. I can’t tell you how excited I was to read about our event on your post. You help us spread awareness about the wounded veterans that are still coming home everyday. Thanks.
2

Karen of Sillymonkeez says:

May 15, 2009 at 3:53 am

Thanks for mentioning the EscaRosa Independence Weekend event Amanda! Here is my post thanking you and Kim for taking the time out to make such great posts.

http://3garnetsn2sapphires.blogspot.com/2009/05/escarosa-independence-weekend.html