National Military Appreciation Month in San Diego County

At Lasting Recovery, our treatment team has the opportunity to work with and “serve” the military and their families.   We are delighted to see our communities support National Military Appreciation Month.

Congress designated May as National Military Appreciation Month in 1999 to ensure our nation was given the opportunity to publicly demonstrate our appreciation for the sacrifices and successes made by our service members - past and present. 

Why May? May was selected because it already had the most days of any other month set aside for celebrating and commemorating our military’s achievements. These days include

·         May 1^st - Loyalty Day, observed, a day set aside for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom.

·         May 8^th - Victory in Europe (VE) Day, commemorating the end of WWII in Europe

·         Third Saturday in May - Armed Forces Day

·         Friday before Mother’s Day - Military Spouse Appreciation Day …and of course the best known of the May holidays,

·         Memorial Day (Formerly known as Decoration Day), the last Monday in May. 

National Military Appreciation Month started as a simple idea; to gather America around its military family to honor, remember, recognize and appreciate those who have served and those now serving. Subsequent formal legislation informs our service members that their country has set aside an entire month to honor, remember and appreciate them. 

There are community events and celebrations throughout the month but I like the Blue Star Museum program because its program lasts the entire summer! Blue Star Museums is a program that offers free admission to museums for all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 30, through Labor Day, September 5, 2011. This is a great way for military families to enhance their summers through regular visits to local museums.

Five Great Ways to Honor Our Military All Year Long

With National Military Appreciation Month all over the news, I started thinking that if we honored them in May, why not honor them all year round. Below are five ideas (in addition to flying the American flag) to show our military that we appreciate them:

1.      Send a care package to a soldier through  USOCARES or sponsor a USO care package by donating to USOCARES.org

2.      Send an email or letter of thanks through: A Million Thanks. A Million Thanks is a year-round campaign to show our appreciation for our U.S. Military Men and Women, past and present, for their sacrifices, dedication, and service to our country through our letters, emails, cards, and prayers.

3.      Support Soldiers’ Angels! Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit with hundreds of thousands of volunteers providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, veterans and their families.

4.      When you see a person in a military uniform, shake their hand and say, “Thank you for serving our country”.

5.       Hire a veteran whenever you can. There are online resources such as “Hire a Vet First”, to help you connect with them.

We are grateful to be able to be of service those that have served us and appreciate the multiple levels of sacrifices made by the military men and women and their families.

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS

Executive Director

Lasting Recovery Staff