Armed Forces Day Dinner Honoring Wounded Warriors, "An Evening to Honor Our Service Personnel", Presented by the Kiwanis Club of Potomac, Maryland, May 20^th

a Photo Essay by Past Governor Bob Cressy, U.S. Army Artillery Veteran

20 May 2011 - The month of May has been dedicated nationally to honor the Armed Services of the United Sates of America.  There are two major events that focus sharply on this, the first being Armed Forces Day/Weekend May 20-22^nd and the second, of course being Memorial Day itself with celebrations of the lives and service of military personnel throughout our history.   Freedom is not free.  It must be earned and protected forever.

On Friday evening, May 20^th, part of Armed Forces Weekend, the Kiwanis Club of Potomac, Maryland, showed its appreciation of our Wounded Warriors of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts with a dinner in their honor.  The club itself, interestingly, has a high percentage of veterans and family members of veterans.  This is the third annual dinner the Potomac Club has sponsored and called it "An Evening To Honor Our Service Personnel".  Our 'Wounded Warriors' are soldiers and marines receiving treatments at Walter Reed Hospital and Navy Medical Facility, soon to be merged.  They are selected through the Yellow Ribbon Fund, an organization dedicated to helping the troops and their families. When they are in our area, YRF assists them with their personal needs such a helping to find temporary housing, furniture, and community services, even with sharply discounted rental cars.  The club also contributes to the Yellow Ribbon Fund program.

Mike Cronin, CPT U. S. Navy (Retired) and the President Elect of the Potomac Kiwanis Club was Master of Cerermonies and President Nancy Cressy welcomed our warriors and guests to the evening program at the Kenwood Golf and Country Club.  The program itself was highlighted by the United States Naval  Academy Brass Quintet providing patriotic music.  They also played our national anthem at the Presentation of the Colors, performed crisply by the Kennedy High School Navy ROTC cadets.  Our Key Note Speaker was Brigadier General Richard L. Simcock II, United States Marine Corps, assigned to the Pentagon as "Principal Director in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Asia & Pacific)."  He said he was "truly moved by being with our warriors this day and appreciative of Kiwanis members for presenting such a great program". 

Kiwanis and the warriors are very appreciative of the special presentation of 'Quilts Of Honor' providing each warrior with a patriotic quilt, plus one for Brigadier General Simcock as a token of our appreciation for his remarks.  The key MSP Quilting Angels supporting this are Suzanne Wade, formerly from Gaithersburg now living in Hemet, California, and Kathy Thorne from Germantown who coordinated the making and delivery of the quilts.  This was started after September 11,  2001, and over 31,000 quilts for "Duty, Honor and Country" have been  awarded to the men and women of our Armed Forces.  We all thank you, quilters, for your generosity.  They can be contacted at www.mspquiltingangles.org for more information … and your thanks.

But this is best told as 'A Photo Essay' with the pictures of the event and the captions which tell the story.  So take a look, please.

Here are two quotes worth thinking carefully about:

The first, "It is indeed a poor nation that has no heroes, but a nation is truly a beggar that has heroes and does not recognize or honor them".

The second from President Ronald Regan:  "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world.  But the United States Armed Forces don't have that problem".

Thank you for your service to your country … and your service to your communities through your Kiwanis International local club.