The Department of Defense announced today the launch of “America Supports You,” a
nationwide program to showcase and communicate American support to the men and
women of the Armed Forces.
In announcing “America Supports You,” Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness Charles Abell said that thousands of Americans, including
individual citizens, businesses and organizations, have spearheaded activities and projects
in their communities to show their support for America’s Armed Forces, especially those
serving in harm’s way.
“These activities of support have a positive impact on the morale and spirit of those who
serve,” said Abell. He said the “America Supports You” program will showcase these
community activities and projects on a new website http://www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil so
that the American public and the U.S. military serving at home and overseas will know
firsthand how much the American people appreciate their service and sacrifice.
Teenager Shauna Fleming of Los Angeles created one of the projects highlighted on the
new “AmericaSupportsYou” web site. Fleming, a 15-year-old high school freshman,
launched a campaign called "A Million Thanks," a year-round campaign to show U.S.
military men and women, past and present, appreciation for their sacrifices, dedication and
service through letters, emails, cards, prayers and thoughts.
Fleming’s story is one of many that will be profiled on the “AmericaSupportsYou” website in
the coming weeks and months. Americans are invited to log on to the website and share
details of activities supporting the troops that are taking place in their communities.
Everyone who shares their story will receive a dog tag with the “America Supports You”
logo, while supplies last.
Representatives of veterans and service organizations also joined DoD at the launch,
including Edward A. Powell Jr., USO, president and chief executive officer; Raymond
Felsecker, American Legion, assistant director of the National Security Foreign Relations
Commission; and James R. Mueller, Veterans of Foreign Wars, senior vice commander-in-
chief.
They join other organizations and associations supporting the campaign through the
distribution of promotional materials and development of community-based activities.
For more information about “America Supports You,” please log on to
http://www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil .
America Supports You: 'Until They All Come Home' Bracelet Symbolizes Thanks
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2005 – Bracelets engraved with "Until They All Come Home"
were passed out to everyone close by at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here Jan.
21.
Elizabeth Johnston, founder of Mothers for Military Support, chats with Army Spc. Joey
Banegas, 22, during a visit with patients in Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical
Center's physical therapy section. Looking on are Joe Spano Jr., left, president, Buy-
Rite Inc., producer of the "Until They All Come Home" bracelets, and Jeffery T. Dyer,
Buy-Rite's senior vice president for sales. Photo by Rudi Williams
(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high- resolution image available.
The plastic yellow bracelets serve as a symbol of patriotism as well as a symbol of
thanks and support to the troops, according to their producer, Joe Spano Jr.
He collaborated on the bracelet idea with Marine Corps mom Elizabeth Johnston. Her
son, Lance Cpl. Joseph C. Paul served in Iraq in 2003.
In a touching moment before he deployed in January 2003, Paul, now in the Marine
Corps Reserve, said he told her, "Mom, just support all of us."
Johnston, of Longview, Wash., promised she would. In February 2003, she founded
Mothers of Military Support, known as M.O.M.S., a non-profit organization to support
troops and their families during deployment.
Spano, president of Buy-Rite Inc., said he was so overwhelmed after reading about
Johnston and her son on the M.O.M.S. Web site that he wanted to do something to
support the troops too. So he called Johnston and told her he wanted to produce a
bracelet with the words "Until They All Come Home."
During his Jan. 21 Walter Reed visit to distribute the bracelets, Spano said Johnston's
words "promised her son, Joe, that she would continue to help the service men and
women until they all come home."
"Although that was not a tag line, I saw it as one," Spano noted. "I thought it just had a
great ring to it. I think for someone to wear that on their wrist and see it every day is a
reminder that they're not all home yet and it's going to be a long time before they are
and let's not forget about them. It's too easy in our prosperity here to forget."
Armed with two large boxes of the yellow plastic wristbands, Spano said his mission to
Washington was to attend to the "real important issue … to get the message out."
"Right now, Iraq and Afghanistan are in the media every day, but there's going to come
a day where something else is going to happen," he said. "And all of a sudden we forget
very quickly, especially here in America where we have so much happening around us
every day that it's very simple to forget people out there protecting us and allowing us
to have those successes and prosperities in this country.
"My interest in doing these bracelets came from Elizabeth," he emphasized. "She comes
to any conversation on any topic and it comes right back down to a discussion about
our men and women in the military. Her passion for that is absolutely intoxicating, and
you can just not help but want to help out in some way, if at all possible."
"Let's remember the troops, he added, "until they all come home."
At Walter Reed's physical therapy department, Spano gave a bracelet to Army Spc.
Joey Banegas, 22, of Hatch, N.M., who was wounded in Afghanistan on Oct. 14.
"I'd seen people with them, but I wasn't sure of what they were," said Banegas, who was
serving with the 25th Infantry Division. "It's good that people recognize and realize that
the troops are out there and are actually waiting for them to come home," he noted. "It
shows that we have a lot more support than we expected to have in the beginning.
"It makes you feel good inside because it shows that you're appreciated and that people
respect you for doing what you do."
Tammy Johnson, mother of Army Spc. Chad Johnson, 21, of Lockhart, Texas, said, "I
haven't seen these bracelets before, but I have mine (now)."
As she put the yellow plastic bracelet on her left wrist, she noted "this means that
somebody is looking out for our soldiers and they really care. If our soldiers over there
know that we really care, they can do their job a lot better and maybe protect
themselves more and come home to us."
Her son arrived at Walter Reed on Oct. 9 from Landstuhl (Germany) Regional Medical
Center. He had served with the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq.
The bracelets represent support to the troops, he said, and are "a consistent reminder
when you look at it on your wrist to remember where you are, where you live and who
supports the freedom."
"When Joe approached me about doing the bracelets," M.O.M.S' Johnston noted, "he
said he believes in M.O.M.S., and that working as a team would be much more powerful
than working separately to show our support for the troops nationally."
She said Spano's company has produced 480,000 bracelets. Spano explained that M.O.
M.S. gets 10 percent of all proceeds and he also contributes funds personally to
support the troops. "This has become a personal passion for him," she noted.
M.O.M.S. has sent hundreds of "care packs" to servicemembers in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Each 1-gallon plastic bag is loaded with such things as lip balm, phone
cards, disposable cameras, beef jerky, anti-bacterial soap, dental floss, music CDs,
playing cards and a host of other items.
http://www.untiltheyallcomehome.org/
http://www.mothersofmilitarysupport.com/
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 5, 2005 – America's men and women in uniform have another
powerful friend working to support them.
Washington Nationals manager and baseball hall-of-famer Frank Robinson chats with
Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense, during ceremonies marking the
Nationals' partnership with the Defense Department's "America Supports You"
program at RFK Stadium in Washington, July 4. The Nationals became the first major
league baseball team to join the troop-support program. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood,
USA (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.
The Washington Nationals, currently in first place in the National League's East
Division, became the first major league baseball team to join the Defense
Department's "America Supports You" program July 4 at their game against
the New York Mets at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium here.
America Supports You is a nationwide program launched by DoD to recognize citizen
support for the nation's military men and women and to communicate that support to
members of the armed forces at home and abroad. The Nationals join
many major corporations, organizations and individuals as part of America Supports
You.
Having a large, highly visible organization like the Nationals join America Supports You
helps to get word out about the program and to raise more support for the troops, said
Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communications and
community outreach.
"This is really about a way to connect all of the people here today in the baseball
stadium to our troops through the America Supports You campaign," she said. "We're
proud of the Nationals for taking the first step and being the
(first major league baseball) team to join."
Several Nationals players said it's important to be involved in a program like America
Supports You, because it gives them a way to show support for the troops.
It's important to remember the sacrifices servicemembers make for all Americans, said
Jamey Carroll, Nationals third baseman. "They provide the freedom for us to come out
and play baseball, so the least we can do is let them know how much support is here
and how much we care," said he noted.
Brian Schneider, Nationals catcher, agreed with Carroll's message of support. "Here
we are playing a game - a little kid's game - and they're fighting for our freedom," he
said. "We tip our caps to them, and we're thinking about them every day and just
appreciate everything they do for us."
Schneider said after he visited wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
here recently, he gained a new appreciation for what they go through in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
"It's just jaw dropping what they've been through," he said. "I can't honestly think about
what I would do if I was in their shoes."
In addition to the Nationals' America Supports You partnership, pre-game activities
included a video salute to the armed forces and a performance of the national anthem
by the Singing Sergeants, the official chorus of the U.S. Air Force. Right before the
game, fans were treated to a flyover by Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, a Marine Corps
unit that provides all helicopter transportation for the president and is responsible for
testing assault helicopters and related equipment.
By Steven Donald Smith
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2005 – The Defense Department today announced the first
"America Supports You Freedom Walk" to honor the victims of 9/11 and America's
military personnel, as well as to celebrate freedom.
The Freedom Walk will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 11 in the Pentagon South parking lot,
near the site where the airliner crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. The walk route
will consist of a two-mile trek through Arlington National Cemetery, over the Potomac
River, and will end by the reflecting pool on the National Mall, where a free concert
featuring country music star Clint Black will take place.
"I am proud and honored to be part of the America Supports You Freedom Walk to
honor the victims of 9/11 and to support our men and women in uniform," Black said.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made the announcement today at the
Pentagon.
"Every year since the Sept. 11 attacks, Americans have commemorated that
anniversary. This year the Department of Defense will initiate an American Supports
You Freedom Walk. The walk will begin at the Pentagon and end at the National Mall.
It will include many of the major monuments in Washington, D.C., reminding
participants of the sacrifices of this generation and of each previous generation that
have so successfully defended our freedoms," Rumsfeld said.
"America Supports You" is a nationwide program launched by the Defense
Department with the goal of highlighting how Americans across the country are
supporting the men and women of the armed forces.
There will also be a private ceremony for the families of the 9/11 victims prior to the
walk.
To avoid long lines, America Supports You Freedom Walk participants are
encouraged to arrive at the Pentagon South parking lot between 7 and 8 a.m.
According to the Freedom Walk Web site, the first 1,000 people to arrive will receive
an official America Supports You campaign lapel pin.
Participants also are encouraged to take the Metro to either the Pentagon or
Pentagon City stations and follow the signs to the Freedom Walk staging area.
The walk was made possible with the help of several local in-kind supporters,
including Stars and Stripes newspaper, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Subway,
Washington Post, Lockheed Martin, WTOP, ABC/WJLA-TV Channel 7 and News
Channel 8, and the Washington Convention & Tourism Corporation, according to the
Freedom Walk Web site.
The goal for next year's walk is to get each state to host its own Freedom Walk to
provide an opportunity for as many citizens as possible to reflect on the importance
of freedom, according to a DoD press release.
Those wishing to walk in this year's Freedom Walk can register online by visiting www.
AmericaSupportsYou.mil and clicking on the Freedom Walk icon. Volunteer
opportunities also are available online. Registration is open until 10 a.m. Sept. 9.
Related Sites:
America Supports You
America Supports You Freedom Walk