A SOLDIER'S PERSPECTIVE
THE WEB'S LEADING MILITARY BLOG SINCE 2004
I believe most people if asked would say they support the troops. People are generous and donate lots of money to support troop projects. There is a great deal of gratitude felt by the average civilian, towards the military who protects and defends us. But one place I have noticed public support lacking is in events that recognize, support or benefit the military.
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Since my son joined the Marines and especially since I became a Gold Star mom, it has been more important for me to be part of the patriotic and military events that take place in our area. I feel a bit ashamed to say, before becoming a military mom, supporting events for the military was probably not even on my radar screen. Yes I am a proud American and I “supported” the troops, but I had not taken an active part in their support until it became personal.
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There are many events that take place for and in support of the military but the sad reality is the military supports the military, the public for the most part does not. Over the past few years I have attended numerous interesting and entertaining events to benefit the military, in which the public was invited to attend. If there was much of a crowd at all, it was mainly made up of military and military families.
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A Christmas concert put on by Letters to Soldiers.org which was raising funds to support all deployed Utah troops with a Christmas package, should have been an easy sell to the public. The outstanding line up of entertainment alone should have been enough to fill the hall. The cause of supporting local troops should have packed the place. As I looked around at the sparse crowd, I mainly saw military families. The organizer later said generating any interest among the media was very difficult. Promoting the event was costly and the means of free publicity were not productive, and this was a great show. People left saying “I wish I had invited my friends.”
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Veteran’s Day parades again, with few attendees. No need to show up early to save your spot on the sidewalk. Kids don’t even get the day off school. So once again, we mainly see the veterans and local military putting on their own parade, and only a few onlookers.Â
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Wreaths Across America, a national program which is gaining momentum places a Christmas wreath on the graves of veterans. Although this is a big event at Arlington, at Utah Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery, not many came to help or attend the ceremony honoring the veteran’s who were no longer with us. All the local media had been invited, but none showed up.Â
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I’ve seen fun community oriented, Army sponsored events with a lot of PR, be dismally attended. Even experience organizers seem to be having problems getting the crowds out to support the troops.  Â
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After all my griping here I do want it to be known that we have several local radio personalities and reporters here in Utah who are always willing to do whatever it takes to help promote an event to support the military. I am grateful for each one of you.  And I just completed a Christmas project for the troops in Iraq that was very successful. But for the most part, it seems it has to be personal for people to get involved.  Â
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We’ll keep plugging away trying to get others involved in events and activities that support and benefit the military. It seems it’s the least we can do since we freely enjoy the benefits of their labor.
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I would be interested to know how well the military is supported in other areas.
(10) Readers Comments
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lambofHisflock
It is a sad fact that America does little to support her troops and veterans. I have fallen prey to that mentality myself, and my husband served in the Navy for 5 years. But over the last year I came to my senses, and realized that simply writing God bless the troops in my car window, sending some care packages, and attending a few rallies is not enough.
Now that I have woken up, and want to be more involved, how do I get information for events? I want to be there when troops arrive home and go to events supporting our veterans… what is the best way to get the information needed to do so?
Dan Maloney
Amy,
You can be uplifted a bit if you read through my report on Wreaths Across America 2008 here:
http://nygoe.wordpress.com/2008/12/13/aar-wreaths-across-america-farmingdale/
Read below the fold for links to WAA ceremonies all across the country, many with videos and photos.
While many of the ceremonies outside of Arlington were small, they were certainly sincere.
Dan Maloney
NY State Coordinator
Gathering of Eagles
Shane Gibson
I think that you are right for the most part. Unfortunately, I think that it is mainly due to the fact that whenever there is a “military” sponsored event, the general public feels that it is exclusively for the military. The most successful events that I have attended have mainly been of the military appreciation type, where the general public feels like their are allowed to attend, and military families are provided with some sort recognition. Yes, it is watered-down, but it is certainly better than nothing!
Kat in GA
There were precious few at the wreath ceremony in milledgeville, GA — I mean, there were like 60-70 of us Patriot Guard Riders…but like 15-20 (if that) regular citizens. Made me sad.
CJ
Thanks for bringing this up, Amy. Unfortunately, I think that the military support community just isn’t as organized or supported as the other side. Those who claim to support troops but only do so if they are attending an anti-war rally have a great grass roots network. We’re too disjointed and isolated. Move America Forward is a great organization that tries very hard to bring together large groups of troop supporters and Hannity’s Freedom Concerts are selling out everywhere they go (wish they’d come close to Alabama so I could go).
I’m at a loss as well. I guess people are too involved in their personal lives to really care about anything outside their comfort zone.
Alan Stout
I think the disconnect between the military and the community stems largely from the fact that with the absence of the draft, there no longer is that link connecting military with the hometown.
Perhaps, if nothing else, a return to some type of conscription–whether it be in the form of national service or a full blown draft similar to WWII or Vietnam–would certainly bolster support at the grass root level to our men and women in uniform.
Shane Gibson
I tend to disagree. I personally find it hard to think of anyone that I know that is not in someway connected to the military. I have a feeling that this is pretty typical, I would very seriously doubt that there are many families here in the US who cannot find a service person in their family tree.
Miriam LeGare
We attended the Wreaths Across America at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, CA. This was the second year for the event in this region. Last year, about 400 people attended. This year there were over 1000, and the donations of wreaths (in addition to the primary wreaths) were so many that there were two wreaths on many graves. It was an inspiring event, and sobering. That’s the good news. The bad news is that without good media exposure, events honoring the military (or anyone else) are dependent on individual networks, and what used to be the function of the daily newspaper has fallen into a black hole because those papers don’t do their jobs, and subscribers cancel. Those of us who are actively supporting the military must be like missionaries because many people want to do something but they don’t know where/how/when.
sue05
Shane, I think in the past, you are right, the typical American is hard pressed not to have someone in their family tree who wasn’t serving in WWI or WWII, Korea or Viet Nam. But once Viet Nam was over, and we went to a volunteer Army, it was very different. I for one, didn’t know any one personally serving in the Military, but wanted very much to show my support. So I went looking for a way to do so. I am not your typical person though. Most wouldn’t be bothered.
I think that the biggest problem with people not supporting the Military is that the Congress doesn’t support them, and the Media, paper, television, radio doesn’t show any support for them. None of them are out there doing the rah rah rah for the troops like they did in days gone by. It’s all about embarrassing the President and claiming we are losing and reporting only bad things. There are no reports of the good.
There are no Victory Gardens, there are no War Bonds, there is no Rationing, there are no sacrifices being made by the average citizen to support the people who protect us, and there is no media to promote it, so people just so easily turn away.
It’s not so much being “too busy” as CJ suggested, as just plain apathy.
Amy
Thanks for all the input. I am grateful for the faithful who are always out there being supportive. I guess what I am seeing is it really is up to us to be the ambassadors, in a way, to spread the word and help get others on board. I think I will try to do a better job at that.