Casino Thanks Servicemembers With Bash
By Samantha L. Quigley / American Forces Press Service
HOLLYWOOD, Fla., May 5, 2006 - <>>It was all about blues at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino here last night.
The
evening began when the Army's Golden Knights parachute team arrived as
only it can - right on target from above. The Knights' arrival kicked
off the "Red, White and Blues Bash" hosted by the casino in conjunction
with Fleet Week USA and the 2006 McDonald's Air and Sea Show, which
begins tomorrow here in South Florida.
The Army parachutists,
followed by the Canadian Forces Snow Birds Precision Aerobatic Team,
took the stage for introductions before the Blues Brothers, Elwood and
Zee Blues, played by Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi respectively, took the
crowd back to "Sweet Home Chicago."
Still on a "mission from
God" and backed by the Sacred Hearts band, the soul men hammed with the
crowd and performed an upbeat tribute to the late "Joliet" Jake Blues -
Belushi's real-life brother John.
Coast Guard Petty Officer
Howat Will said Fleet Week and the air and sea show are great
opportunities to demonstrate to the public what the sea services do.
The aviation survival technician will participate in a Coast Guard
demonstration during air and sea show activities.
Having just accepted the gratitude of a passer-by,
Will and Coast Guardsman Petty Officer 3rd Class Dustin Bernatovich,
also an aviation survival technician, said such they always appreciated
such gestures.
"I'm very thankful," he said and really likes it "when somebody comes up to me and asks me what I do and says, 'Thank you.'"
"People think of us as so many things," he said. "But me, I'm just doing my job."
While
the Blues Brothers wrapped up their salute with their famous rendition
of "Soul Man," the Down Range portion of the Army Band was drawing a
crowd with its version of the same tune.
"It's immeasurable
the impact it has for the troops serving overseas, for retired
veterans," Army Down Range member Staff Sgt. Colin Eaton, said of the
Fleet Week and air and sea show festivities. "It shows that the Army
and all the sister services are still strong, and they're still
supportive of each other and all those who served before us."
Eaton
has been with the Army Band at Fort Myer, Va., for the past six and a
half years and said he looks forward to performing at events like the
casino show.
The Bash ended with a blast as a fireworks display erupted over Seminole Paradise Lake.
Supporters Share Stage With Lt. Dan Band
By Paul X. Rutz and Steven Donald Smith / American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 5, 2006 - <>>Volunteers
with groups dedicated to supporting America's fighting men and women
gathered for a celebrity-led concert in the Pentagon's outdoor center
courtyard today.
The event, which was sponsored by "America
Supports You," featured actor Gary Sinise and his "Lt. Dan Band," whose
performance was broadcast around the world to deployed servicemembers
by the Pentagon Channel. The grassroots volunteers manned booths
alongside Defense Department employees and military personnel attending
the concert.
ASY is a Defense Department program that
highlights grassroots and corporate support for the nation's troops and
their families.
Among the display booths was "Operation Iraqi
Children," an effort to collect school supplies for Iraqi children and
co-founded by Sinise and "Seabiscuit" author Laura Hillenbrand. Donated
items to the nonprofit organization go directly to a Kansas City, Mo.,
warehouse, where they are packaged and then shipped to Iraq. Once
there, the supplies are distributed by American troops.
Sara
Singer, a volunteer with the group, said it is important to build
democratic values in Iraq from the ground up. "Building democracy in
Iraq starts at the bottom by supporting the children," she said. "The
effort is also a huge morale builder for our troops."
Brenda
Kecskes, of Disabled American Veterans, said her group offers a
nationwide network of services free of charge to all veterans and their
family members. The group has been active since 1920 as nonprofit
advocates for veterans' rights.
DAV's Brian Austin said one of
his group's main jobs is to assist members who are being medically
discharged with their physical evaluation boards to make sure they're
treated fairly. "We basically act as their attorney," he said.
A
member of the United Service Organizations, Milinda Jefferson, said she
started volunteering with the nonprofit group shortly after the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist attacks. As an Air Force "brat," she said she
relishes the chance to support America's troops. "I try to fit it in at
least once month, but this will be a huge month for us because Memorial
Day counts for a lot," she said.
Jefferson works at the USO
Metropolitan Office, which is responsible for events around the
Washington, D.C., metro area, everything "from care package programs to
assisting at the airport," she said. "We hug them right before they
leave for Iraq."
Deanna Okun, the founder of "ThanksUSA," a
McLean, Va.-based nonprofit organization that provides college
scholarships to military children and spouses, said her family wanted
to do something to give back to the troops and their families.
"It's
important to support the troops because they do so much for us. The
sacrifices the troops and their families make are incredible," Okun
said. "You could do something for them every day, and it still wouldn't
be enough. ThanksUSA is my family's way of saying, 'Thank you.'"
Other America Supports You members attending the Pentagon event were:
Air Force Aid Society;
Cell Phones for Soldiers;
Family & Friends for Freedom Fund, Inc.;
Freedom Alliance;
Give2TheTroops, Inc.;
Homes for Our Troops;
Military Family Support Center;
National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve;
National Military Family Association;
New England Caring for Our Military;
Operation First Response Inc.;
Operation Noble Foster;
Our Military Kids;
Patriotic Pillow Project;
SemperComm;
Serving Those Who Serve;
Sew Much Comfort;
Stars for Stripes;
Support Our Soldiers;
United We Serve; and
USMC MotoMail.