Army Staff Sgt. Collins Roberts, a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, dances with singer Jenny Boyle during her concert in the Pentagon courtyard May 4. The concert, the third annual America Supports You Salute Concert, kicked off Military Appreciation Month, which is observed during May. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley
|
|
WASHINGTON, May 4, 2007 - The Pentagon kicked off Military Appreciation Month today with the third annual “America Supports You Salute Concert,” featuring local recording artist Jenny Boyle, in the national military headquarters’ center courtyard.
.
Navy Vice Adm. Nancy Brown, the Joint Staff’s director for command, control, communications and computer systems, opened the concert with a welcome to guests of honor including six wounded soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, and Rebecca Gates, wife of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
“I also want to … thank all of the folks that work in the Pentagon, because you also are warriors supporting those that are out in Iraq and Afghanistan and all of the other places that we have folks deployed today,” Brown said. “For our (home-front) groups that are here with their booths, … for their contributions and their sacrifices in supporting our troops, thank you all very much.”
The appreciation continued when Boyle and her band took the stage. The singer, who Brown had introduced as a “real hero” for her dedication to entertaining troops overseas, expressed her gratitude for the troops and civilians alike.
“There aren’t enough thank yous,” Boyle told the crowd. “You all are my heroes, each and every one of you.”
Today’s concert was just an extension of that support, he said. “She doesn’t ask for anything; … (its) just to shows appreciation for what the military does, what we do,” Roberts said. “It speaks a lot of her.”
Defense civilians said the concert was a nice tribute to their efforts, and a great way to spend a lunch hour.
“I think that’s wonderful that people … give back to (servicemembers),” Barbara Brown, a contractor with Syracuse Research Corporation, said. “It’s really refreshing, especially on a beautiful day, good music, just to say, ‘Thank You.’”
An autograph session with Boyle and her band capped the hour-long, lunchtime concert.
A declaration in 1999 encouraged U.S. citizens to observe May as Military Appreciation Month "in a symbol of unity - to honor the current and former members of the armed forces - including those who have died in the pursuit of freedom and peace.”
|
