El Capitan/Travel Lodge are Platinum Sponsors of our AFD event! Please support them!
El Capitan/Travel Lodge are Platinum Sponsors of our AFD event! Please support them!
THE 74TH ARMED FORCES DAY CELEBRATION!!
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The big day may have come and gone, but we would love pictures and stories to add to the website! Send to Armed.Forces.Day@outlook.com.
We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization committed to the preservation and growth of the annual Armed Forces Day celebration. We meet the 2nd Tuesday of each month between August and April at the Mineral County Public Library at 5:30 pm. (We are open to changing days/times to accommodate volunteers)
Please contact us to see how you can help!
Email: armed.forces.day@outlook.com
Phone: (775)866-7705 text or calls. Leave a message and we will get back to you asap.
Hawthorne, Nevada has been celebrating Armed Forces Day for over 73 years. Every year, the third weekend of May means the citizens of America's Patriotic Home come out in full force; bringing with them family, friends, and many others from near and far to honor all those who are serving and have served in the United States Armed Forces! We celebrate them with activities, fireworks and a remarkable parade in their honor!
Come join us!
On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense. Each of the military leagues and orders was asked to drop sponsorship of its specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day, too.
In a speech announcing the formation of the day, President Truman "praised the work of the military services at home and across the seas" and said, "it is vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace." In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Mr. Truman stated:
"Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America's defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense".
The theme of the first Armed Forces Day was "Teamed for Defense." It was chosen as a means of expressing the unification of all the military forces under a single department of the government. Although this was the theme for the day, there were several other purposes for holding Armed Forces Day. It was a type of "educational program for civilians," one in which there would be an increased awareness of the Armed Forces. It was designed to expand public understanding of what type of job is performed and the role of the military in civilian life. It was a day for the military to show "state-of- the-art" equipment to the civilian population they were protecting. And it was a day to honor and acknowledge the people of the Armed Forces of the United States.
According to a New York Times article published on May 17, 1952: "This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces ... to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won't be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty."
The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated by parades, open houses, receptions, and air shows. In Washington D.C., 10,000 troops of all branches of the military, cadets, and veterans marched past the President and his party. In Berlin, 1,000 U.S. troops paraded for the German citizens at Templehof Airfield. In New York City, an estimated 33,000 participants initiated Armed Forces Day "under an air cover of 250 military planes of all types." In the harbors across the country were the famed mothballed "battlewagons" of World War II, the Missouri, the New Jersey, the North Carolina, and the Iowa, all open for public inspection. Precision flying teams dominated the skies as tracking radar were exhibited on the ground. All across the country, the American people joined together to honor the Armed Forces.
As the people gathered to honor the Armed Forces on this occasion, so too did the country's leaders.
Content credited by:
United States Department of Defense
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