American Valor Quarterly Issue 1 - Winter 2007 | Page 35

Thank You For Your Support! The American Veterans Center, with its two divisions the World War II Veterans Committee and the National Vietnam Veterans Committee - is grateful for your continued support in our shared mission of preserving the history and legacy of America’s veterans and service members. Through its various programs, the Center has sought to provide an outlet for veterans to share their experiences with the public, and to teach their lessons to the younger generation. The support of thousands of individuals across America has allowed the Center to expand its efforts over the years, instituting a number of quality projects, including: The National Memorial Day Parade Held each year along the National Mall in Washington, DC, and featuring nearly 200 elements and over 250,000 spectators. Since its creation in 2005, the parade has grown to be among the largest in the nation, and serves to remind Americans of all generations of the sacrifices made by our uniformed men and women. Documentaries and Radio Series The Center has a long history of producing quality radio documentaries in association with the Radio America network. Included is the award-winning World War II Chronicles on which this publication is based, D-Day: They Were There and Pearl Harbor: 60 Years of Echoes. More recently, the Center has sponsored two weekly radio series, Veterans Chronicles and Proudly We Hail, both programs featuring interviews with America’s great heroes. Annual Veterans Conference Our quarterly publication, which provides the opportunity for veterans to share their stories, in their own words with an audience of tens of thousands of people. Copies of AVQ are also donated to nearly 200 VA hospitals and vets centers around the country, as a way to say “thank you” to our veterans, and those who care for them. Youth Activities and Educational Outreach The underlying theme of each of our programs is to build an appreciation of America’s veterans and military history among young people. Students and youth groups are encouraged to participate in AVC activities, and the Center sponsors essay contests, a high school and college scholarship, and an internship program, all providing an opportunity for young people to learn about - and from - America’s uniformed heroes. Supporting Our Troops Every Veterans Day weekend America’s greatest veterans gather to share their experiences with an audience of several hundred students, fellow veterans, and the public. The 2006 conference was televised live on C-Span, and viewed by thousands of Americans. Honoring those who have sacrificed. The American Veterans Center is proud to support those veterans and service members who have been wounded in the line of duty. Pictured above is Medal of Honor recipient Col. Robert Howard with our wounded service members and representatives of the Young Marines. American Valor Quarterly In addition to featuring the stories of those currently serving in our publications and radio programs, and including them in the National Memorial Day Parade, the Center is proud to sponsor regular events for our wounded heroes currently undergoing rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital. Interns and students are given the opportunity to meet, and learn about, America’s greatest From the Greatest Generation to the latest generation. It battlefield heroes. Here, former intern Michael is the lessons and inspiration provided by those veterans O’Donnell visits the grave of Joe Ronnie who have come before that is so valuable to the young Hooper, the most decorated soldier of the people of today. Through the American Veterans Center’s Vietnam War. Michael researched Hooper’s many events, we seek to bring these generations together, story, which he wrote for publication. as above, where young ROTC students speak directly to the legendary Tuskegee Airmen at the 2007 conference.