Travelers who take the I-295 Bypass around Richmond, Virginia know Exit 9B—numerous gas stations, fast food restaurants, and quick stop stores.  After years of trekking between Alexandria and North Carolina, my family and I know these spots by heart.

Recently returning home from a UNC basketball game, my son and I stopped at Denny’s on Exit 9B for dinner.  I was tired and inwardly fretting about a Tar Heel loss, the economy, college tuition, gas prices…and then I saw them.

Three booths away from us sat a uniformed Army sergeant and her children.  The kids were well-mannered and seemed to be enjoying their meal.  I remembered that Ft. Lee was nearby and began thinking about this family.  Where was the father?  Was he in the Army too? Deployed?  Maybe the sergeant had been so busy with her duties recently that she asked for this Mom’s night out with her children and left Dad at home? Maybe she had just returned from Iraq or Afghanistan?

I didn’t want to intrude, but I was proud to be seated near them.  My worries and struggles seemed small compared to what so many military families face every day.  They deal with challenges on the home front in ways that most civilians do not understand or appreciate.  Finding a new home…packing and moving…leaving grandparents and friends…registering for new schools…registering cars…finding a new place of worship…finding a new temporary job…worrying about loved ones who are deployed…and a thousand other details.  Often military spouses have to handle these chores alone.  Money is always tight.

I said a short prayer for this Army family in Denny’s, quietly paid their bill when we left ahead of them, and headed back to my comfortable life.  It was the least I could do.

What a great weekend!

Even though there was extensive rain throughout the Northern Virginia region on Saturday, we were largely spared for most of the day at the Tank Farm.  A few quick sprinkles in the late morning and early afternoon, but no real rain until 3:00.

Combining the experience of long-time traffic counters as well as estimates based on hard numbers of lunch sales, we believe that we had 700-800 attendees on Saturday and 1,200-1400 on Sunday. Our biggest Open House yet.

So many highlights:

• 50 or 60 armored vehicles out on display
• The capabilities of 10 vintage tanks demonstrated
• A Huey helicopter flown in for display by the DC Army National Guard
• A special ceremony honoring several World War II veterans who were present, including Bob Overkott, a survivor of the disastrous launch of 29 amphibious tanks on D-Day
• Flame thrower and small arms demonstrations by the United States Marine Corps Historical Company
• Helicopter rides provided by American Helicopters, Inc.
• Remote controlled, to scaled model tanks—a real hit with the boys!
• A cadre of re-enactors
• Camo face painting for the kids
• Armored vehicle rides for membership raffle winners
• New NMAW T-shirts for all new members
• And much more

For the Museum, we were very pleased to add nearly 200 new members to our cause.  More importantly, however, we believe that we were able to show our visitors in a fun and respectful way how our Museum will achieve our vision of honoring those who serve(d) our country in times of war.

Special thanks to Allan Cors, our chairman and owner of the Tank Farm and his amazing collection of vintage armored vehicles, Nancy Coursen, Elizabeth Newberry, Marc Sehring, Alan Berry, Bruce Oppenhagen, Larry Tucker, and so many other great volunteers and participants.  

We will have more photos and film available soon, but our good friend Bob Miller has already posted some great shots and video clips on his milblog: 

http://unitedconservatives.blogspot.com/search/label/National%20Museum%20of%20Americans%20in%20Wartime

 http://www.concretebob.freeservers.com/custom.html

One side of remembrance is for our heroes who gave their lives defending America and our values.  The other side is for the loved ones left behind, especially the spouses and children. 

Allan Cors and I had the pleasure and honor of lunching with Craig Pirtle, a man who is committed to supporting the families of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He became friends with COL John Folsom (USMC) and an advocate for a program COL Folsom had begun called Wounded Warriors Family Support.  We were very impressed with the vision of this organization.

WWFS mission is to “provide support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured or killed during combat operations. The families of our casualties suffer in many ways: some financially, some psychological.  Wounded Warriors Family Support mitigates their trauma by allowing them to find peace and solace as a family once more in family-friendly resorts that we provide free of charge. The resort condominiums that we own in Orlando, Florida and Galveston, Texas are quiet havens where war torn families can reunite and become stronger.”

Please check out their Web site: www.woundedwarriorhospitalfund.org  You will also have a chance to see a very positive piece CNN’s Anderson Copper 360 did on the organization.

Thank you COL Folsom and Craig Pirtle.

On Memorial Day, we honor all those who gave their life while serving in the United States military.  We owe every man and woman who died and their families our unbending gratitude and respect.

How appropriate that my wife wanted our family to watch the HBO movie, Taking Chance, last night.  Every lump in a throat or tear running down a cheek was testament to the effectiveness of the movie.  We felt respect for the fallen warrior, shared loss with his family and buddies, and empathy for those fellow Marines who questioned “Why not me instead of Chance?”

If you don’t know, the movie tells of the experiences of Lt. Col. Mike Strobl (USMC), who volunteered to be the military escort for PFC Chance Phelps’ body back to his home in Dubois, Wyoming.  Phelps, who was only 19, was killed in Ramdi, Iraq in 2004 while providing cover for fellow Marines who came under enemy attack.

The care and respect given Phelps’ remains and LTC Strobl at every step in the journey was touching and reassuring.  I highly recommend this movie.

On Friday, March 20, the Secretary of the Army, Pete Geren, will present the first Lt. General Richard G. Trefry Lifetime of Service Award to our own Board member—-Lt. General Richard G. Trefry.  Talk about a distinguished career.  They’re not only giving General Trefry a new permanently established award, but they are naming it after him!

General Trefry’s 33-year Army career began as a young enlisted man in World War II and ended after six significant years as Inspector General of the Army. After retirement, General Trefry served in the White House as the Military Assistant to the President of the United States.

General Trefry holds a B.S. degree in Military Science from the United States Military Academy, West Point, is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College. He currently serves as a Senior Fellow for the Institute for Land Warfare in the Association of the U.S. Army and is Program Manager of the Army Force Management School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. General Trefry teaches and speaks frequently at service schools, public and private organizations, and at public and private schools and colleges.

General Trefry is one of the most dedicated Trustees of the National Museum of Americans in Wartime.  He said, “As part of our national remembrance, I support the plan to establish an institution where we can see how American men and women fought, but also touch the steel of armor and hear the sounds of war and feel the battlefield beneath our feet.”

Check out General Trefry’s complete bio on the West Point Web site – http://www.westpointaog.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=599.

Sometimes problems are large.  Just ask Citibank or Barry Bonds.  Other times problems seem small, but are still important.  I’ve been grappling with the latter—when to use lower or upper case letters in museum materials.

In which sentence do you think the capitalization is correct?

I ran this dilemma by a veterans committee representing the different branches and inquired at the Pentagon.  Guess what?  There were several answers and no long-standing policy regarding capitalization for these generic terms when referring to United Sates military personnel.

The Army, Navy, and Air Force have largely been OK with lower case, but there are lots of exceptions.  General Petraeus insisted on capitalizing Soldier, for example.  A Marine may say that Marine is always capitalized, but I can easily find places where marine isn’t capitalized.  And so on…

My decision?  We will capitalize Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, Coast Guardsman, Reservist, and National Guardsman in every case when we are referring to member of the United States military. I believe that is what the Pentagon prefers now as well.  So sentence #3 above is now our standard.

I say these military men and women deserve our respect and admiration…and Capitalization.  Hooah!

I had the good fortune to attend a Change of Command Ceremony aboard the USS Intrepid two weekends ago in New York City.  My good friend and former neighbor in Fayetteville, COL (P) Jay Gothard, was assuming command of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command at Fort Wadsworth.  Good man, wonderful husband and dad, and everything this country can be proud about in a Reserve officer.

During his opening remarks, MG David Morris, Commanding General of the USA Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), shared some sobering facts regarding deployments, and I also spoke with Jay about the issue.  Civil Affairs is about 6,000 soldiers strong (out of 208,000 in the Army Reserve) and these soldiers are currently supporting every major contingency operation, not just Iraq and Afghanistan.  Civil Affairs soldiers are deploying about every 20-24 months for a year.  That is close to the Active Duty operational tempo of 18 months of dwell time.  The goal is to deploy for one year out of every five.  We can’t get there with our current force structure and the world situation.  Therefore our forces are strained and it is requiring a lot of creative effort on every leader’s part to meet the nation’s business requirements.  General Casey, the Chief of Staff, says our forces are out of balance.  The Army is working hard to get back into balance, with a goal of 2011 to reach some equilibrium.

The Army Reserve has had about 130 Soldiers killed in action.  Twenty-four of those Soldiers were Civil Affairs Soldiers, or about 20 percent of the KIAs.

Our Museum will definitely include the stories of Reservists and National Guard soldiers.  They serve.  They sacrifice.  They protect our freedoms.

When I mention that our museum will cover those who serve(d) our country on the home front during times of war, almost everyone thinks immediately of World War II and Rosie the Riveter.   But what about today and what about families?  Is their story being told?

My family gathered in Fayetteville, North Carolina last week at my mother’s home for Thanksgiving.  A highlight is always attending morning Mass at St. Patrick’s Church.  The large sanctuary was nearly full and all came to give thanks to God in a reverent way for all our many blessings.  Quiet and respectful…except for two little boys sitting three rows in front of us.  These imps squirmed.  They made noises.  They dropped things.  They behaved like…well… little boys.

Nobody actually glared or said anything, but you knew that we all were thinking after 10 minutes or so, “Why doesn’t that mother do something about her disruptive sons.  We came here to worship, not be distracted.”  The young woman seemed determined to ride out the storm inside the church.  She would settle one boy down then try to attend to the Mass, but within two minutes one or the other son was at it again.  Was this going to go on the entire Mass?

And then it struck me.  Her husband is deployed.  A high percentage of Catholic parishioners in Fayetteville are military, and this poor woman is there to pray for the safety of her sons’ father.

I shared this thought with my wife, and she went and spoke with the woman after Communion.  “Honey, do you need any help?  Our son was just as squirmy when he was that age.  Are you an Army wife?  Is your husband deployed?”

They didn’t speak long, but I could see the young mother’s look of gratitude that someone understood.  She told my wife that her husband is in the Army and he was away on an assignment.

“Are you OK?”

“Yes. Thanks for asking.  I’m just a little worn out.”

I came to give thanks for my family, and I left giving thanks for hers and others like her.  God bless America.

Taps.  Only 24 notes, yet it honors and mourns countless stories of courage, sacrifice, and loss.

Last week a military bugler came to my daughter’s middle school to explain the history and significance of Taps but found himself overwhelmed by the experience.  He apologized for choking up during his presentation and said that it was the first time he’d ever had to explain Taps.  The reality of what it symbolizes hit him—so many young heroes lost.

My daughter said, “At first we thought he was stepping back to do something different with his talk, but then I could tell he was going to cry.”  We talk a lot about military service and patriotism in my family, and she quickly understood what was happening.  “It must be really hard for him and I thanked him after the assembly was over.  I didn’t know what else to say.”

Only 24 notes…

The site www.tapsbugler.com can tell you everything you need to know about this bugle call it describes as “eloquent and haunting.”

I actually started to make the headline “You go, Girl!” but in no way did I want to diminish the amazing accomplishments of Ann Dunwoody, our country’s first female four -star general.  From everything I’ve read, she and her family are true patriots.  A member of her family has served in every war since our War of Independence.  Her dad is a retired Brigadier General who served in WWI, Korea, and Vietnam.  Her husband is a retired Air Force Colonel.

After her Pentagon ceremony, Dunwoody was sworn in as commander of the Army Materiel Command, responsible for equipping, outfitting and arming all U.S. soldiers across the globe.  I was living in Fayetteville, NC when she became the 82nd Airborne Division’s first female battalion commander and heard positive comments, not scorn, from my military buddies.

The first American woman was promoted to general rank in 1970 by the Army.  Now just shy of 60 military women wear stars as generals or admiral.

Here’s a good site to learn more about women in the military: http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/