Armed Forces Day 2010
May 15, 2010 by Lillie
Today is Armed Forces Day, observed every year since 1950 to honor the member of all branches of the Armed Services and thank them for their service.
The theme is this year’s observance is “United in Strength. We are so proud that the various branches within the Department of Defense are “United in Strength” to protect our freedoms.
Thank you to each and every person who is serving our country in the military or who has done so in the past.
If you want to show your support of our troops and thank them for their service, you have a variety of options. Here are just a few:
- Adopt-a-Chaplain—”a Christ-centered ministry that is dedicated to supporting our troops through the ministries of chaplains.”
- AnySoldier.com—individual soldiers coordinate requests from troops in their units and donations by volunteers.
- Books for Soldiers—troops can request specific books, DVDs, and games, and volunteers send the requested items.
- Let’s Say Thanks—create and send online cards to troops.
- Operation EBook Drop: Free Books for Deployed Soldiers—authors donate free e-books to deployed soldiers.
- Soldiers’ Angels—”Through special projects, dedicated teams and individuals supporting our troops, we make a visible difference in the lives of our service members and their families.”
You can find an extensive list of many, many more organizations that support our troops at Support Our Troops. You’re bound to find the right one for you.
O LORD God of Hosts, stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and protect the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines of our country. Support them in the day of battle, and in the time of peace keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lillie,
A powerful song – certainly appropriate for the subject at hand.
Your troops over there have great courage and are making a tremendous sacrifice. I join with you in your prayer for them.
.-= Andrew´s last blog ..BP: Gallant Effort Destroyed In Catastrophe =-.
Thank you, Andrew. I am very proud of our troops and appreciate their service tremendously.
Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize it was today. My hubby was a Marine too, he usually lets me know when these things are approaching.
Have a wonderful weekend!
MissV,
Thank your husband for his service!
Hey I didn’t knew there is something like that too.. My best wishes with the families who suffer because of their family member working in any military forces or army. They are our heros. Wish them the best in their life.
Jim,
You are so right that military families are heroes. They suffer in a different way than the troops, but their sacrifices are no less real.
Great point about military families. Maybe you could find a good military family related charity to add to this list. It is easy to forget about the sacrifices that the families are making. I couldn’t begin to imagine how tough it would be to constantly be worrying about a loved one and not being able to see them while they are away.
Good idea, Jeremy. I do not know any specific charities for military families. If someone has a suggestion, I’ll be glad to add it to the list. Adopt-a-Chaplain does help the families of deployed chaplains, and some of the other organizations may have some family support.
The troops give a great deal of their lives to a honourable cause by representing us overseas, indeed some of them never return.
It’s a sacrifice none of us will ever really understand unless we were to do it ourselves.
.-= Si@Leadership Advice´s last blog ..Leadership Skills List =-.
Si,
You’re right that we don’t understand what a great sacrifice our military and their families make unless we experience it ourselves or at least know someone who has experienced it.
Hi Lillie
Our troops do a fantastic job, UK or USA.
They have my admiration and my support.
I didn’t play the video of “If I die before I wake” – too upsetting.
Many thanks for reminding those of us who live in safety because of their sacrifice.
.-= Keith Davis@public speaking´s last blog ..Flying in formation =-.
Keith,
I don’t know why that image is the one you see first. It’s the most disturbing image in the video, and there are very few images like this. It’s a beautiful song affirming a soldier’s willingness to die for his country.
Though I am late for wishing this day but still I would like to be thankful to all those soldiers who sacrifice their lives and time for us to remain safe. My salute to all of them.
Jeremy,
Anytime is the right time to salute and thank our military.
Thank you very much for the prayer. I haven’t seen one like that for soldiers before and it was very moving. I said it for our troops up here in Canada, who are currently serving in Afghanistan.
Michael,
The prayer is from the prayer book used by my church, the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. I’m glad you said it for the Canadian troops. They should be honored and thanked and prayed for.
Aha. That explains the “endued”. I had to look it up. I should have guessed. The BCP has some wonderful prayers.
.-= Michael@Island Hood´s last blog ..Stainless Range Hood =-.
Michael,
I really like the old language because it helps us to focus and stop and think about the words. It seems like a good idea to use formal language to worship and praise the Lord. I also like the King James Version of the Bible for that reason. On the other hand, I use other translations for study so I understand them better.
Thats one great song Lillie. Moved by the lyrics. Thanks for posting it, which made us to feel proud of our forces. People in troops sacrifice beautiful life of their own for welfare of us. They leave their family behind and struggle in war front. Its good to have posts like this which spreads love for them.
Mark,
It is important to remember our troops and their families and the sacrifices they make for us.
What a great song. It’s really touching and moving once you really look in to the lyrics. Hands down to those who served and fought for our freedom.
.-= Nancy´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
Nancy,
I’m not familiar with the expression “hands down” used in this context, but I’m assuming it’s good.
Reminds me of the movie, “Dear John” thanks to our soldiers…
Ron,
I’m totally out of the loop on movies, so I haven’t heard of the one you mention. But we’re in agreement on supporting our troops.
A great song! This would show how our troops had made a lot of sacrifices for the peace of our country, There are a lot of lives taken, We should all pray for the World Peace!
Angelo,
Yet, let’s pray, but I don’t think conflict will end until Jesus returns.
[...] year on Armed Forces Day, I highlighted a number of troop support organizations. If you’re not involved in supporting our troops, I encourage you to do [...]
Lillie, thank you for today’s post and for this list. You’ve done a great public service for our troops.
Deb,
I hope everyone will just do a small part in honoring our troops. If we each do something seemingly insignificant, it will add up to great support.