Category: Military News

THE RIBBON WAS CUT AND “AND SCHOOLING WITH UNCLE SAM” IS OPEN

Events, Military News, Museum News, Museum of the American Military Family, The Board of Directors

The Cadets of the Bataan Military Academy posted the colors proudly, and just as proudly, Dr. Circe Olson Woessner, founder and Executive Director of the Museum of the American Military Family, gave them the order to cut the ribbon and open “Schooling with Uncle Sam.”

Some 40 friends and supporters of the Museum rose to applaud the gesture, led by an enthusiastic Brigadier General Andrew Salas, Adjutant General of the New Mexico National Guard. They then spread out to look at artifact cases and displays and a series of exhibit panels telling the story of the elementary and secondary schools operated by the U.S. Defense Department around the world since the end of World War II.

“Schooling with Uncle Sam,” housed in the Botts Auditorium of the Albuquerque Special Collections Library, itself on the National Register of Historic Places, is the first public exhibit about this remarkable and unique school system.

“Schooling” co-curator (with Dr. Woessner) Dr. Allen Dale Olson told the audience that some 15 million adults have attended these schools over the years and that nearly all of them went to three, four, maybe five different schools on the way to graduation, that 50 % of them lived at or near the poverty line and in spite of all the moves, 97% of them actually graduated. » Read more

Month of the Military Child

Brats, Events, Military Family Members, Military News, Museum News
Photo of Dandelion with Month of the Military Child 
Story from the Army News Service  and  The Bayonet Photo: Bing copyright-free images

Whereas, since 1986, Army installations around the world recognize the sacrifices and applaud the courage of military children by celebrating the Month of the Military Child throughout the month of April; and

Whereas, each day, military children undergo unique challenges, which they face with resilience and dignity beyond their years; and

Whereas, it is essential to recognize that military children make significant contributions to the country while dealing with uncertainty and concern for their parents during extended hours and long deployments; and

Whereas, the high demand of Family responsibility that military children accept takes courage and strength as they serve the Nation along with their parents; and

Whereas, our men and women in uniform cannot focus on the missions or challenges ahead if they are concerned about their children at home; and

Whereas, the Army strives to provide a safe, nurturing environment for military children to enable a stronger and more resilient fighting force; and

Whereas, the Month of the Military Child reinforces this concept, reminds the nation that the service members’ children also serve, and gives communities an opportunity to share their gratitude for the service of military children; and

Now, therefore, we hereby join the nation in honoring our military children throughout the month of April.

John M. McHugh Secretary of the Army

Gen. Raymond T. Odierno Army chief of staff

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey Sergeant Major of the Army

Read more here: http://www.thebayonet.com/2015/03/31/774360/month-of-the-military-child.html#storylink=cp

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Talking Service: A Reading & Discussion Program for New Mexico Veterans

Events, Military News, Museum News, Museum of the American Military Family, The Board of Directors
Child in service member's arms

Contact: Circe Olson Woessner at (505) 504-6830; Museum of the American Military Family

Contact: Michelle Quisenberry at (505) 633.7370; New Mexico Humanities Council

 Albuquerque, March 27, 2015– In a unique collaboration, the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with the New Mexico Humanities Council and the Museum of the American Military Family to offer Talking Service, a new reading and discussion program for veterans to reflect on their service and the transition to civilian life.  The program will take place in April on Wednesday evenings from 6:30pn-8:00pm. At the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, veterans can come together to discuss military themed readings from the anthology, Standing Down. The discussions will be facilitated by Caroline LeBlanc, Writer-in-Residence of the Museum of the American Military Family.

Talking Service, hosted at the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, is part of a national initiative by the Great Books Foundation and state humanities councils to offer veterans the opportunity to reflect on their service and talk openly about their challenges and future aspirations.  It is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities Standing Together initiative, which encourages humanities programs that focus on the history, experience, or meaning of war and military service.  The Great Books Foundation donated copies of Standing Down to state humanities councils, who in turn provide the textbooks to participating veterans in their states.

Standing_Down_Front_Cover-1

Talking Service is free and open to past and present members of the Armed Forces. For more information about the program and how to join, please contact Dr. Circe Olson Woessner, Executive Director , Museum of the American Military Family at 505 504-6830 » Read more

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NEW MEXICO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HONORS MAMF WITH MEMORIAL BILL 28 IN THE STATE CAPITOL

Events, Government, Military Family Members, Military News, Museum News, Museum of the American Military Family, The Board of Directors
Phot of entry to the New Mexico State Capitol
2/25/2015
MAMF board sat up front of the House for the introduction and vote

The “Whereases” kept coming, each one more laudatory than the preceding one as the New Mexico House of Representatives Chief Clerk read House Memorial Bill 28 “recognizing the Museum of the American Military Family and Learning Center and the Importance of the American Military Family.”

HM 28 was sponsored and introduced by Representative Bill McCamley, Democrat of Las Cruces, and supported by several Members of both parties testifying in favor of this Museum which is focusing on experiences such as their own growing up with or being married to a person serving in one of the military services. Representative McCamley cited his own life in the military and the work MAMF is doing as his reasons for sponsoring the Bill. » Read more

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Some highlights from MAMF’s very busy 2014:

Brats, Events, Military Family Members, Military News, Museum News, Museum of the American Military Family, The Board of Directors, Veterans

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better [person].     Benjamin Franklin

We at the Museum of the American Military Family would like to thank all of you who have helped us have a successful and wonderful year. We appreciate your kind words, support and participation! We look forward to a great 2015–

Some highlights from MAMF’s very busy 2014:

February

-Screened the Documentary Brown Babies at the South Broadway Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM

 March

Created two aprons for display as part of the Womyn’s Work Apron Project in Albuquerque

May through September

Exhibit: Sacrifice & Service: The American Military Family at the National Nuclear Museum (seen by 17, 116 visitors)

Activities as part of the exhibit: » Read more

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FAST-PACED FALL FOR MAMF

Military News, Museum News, Museum of the American Military Family, The Board of Directors

Allen Dale Olson, Secretary/Public Affairs

From Lovington to Los Alamos — “Sacrifice & Service,” the exhibit that attracted 17,116 visitors during its stay in the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History between Memorial Day and Labor Day, spent two months in the Lea County History Museum will spend December in the Mesa Public Library in Los Alamos.

 

 

“Sacrifice & Service” is very much on our minds these days, as it will return home to Albuquerque right after the New Year’s holiday, and though we have arrangements to store it, we are hoping to find it a permanent home.

Meantime, we have started another exhibit and we’re calling it “Schooling with Uncle Sam,” the story of the Defense Department Dependents Schools and the students and teachers who have experienced them. We hope to have it completed by spring 2015. » Read more

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A Salute to Our Heroes

Brats, Events, Military Family Members, Military News, Museum of the American Military Family, The Board of Directors, Uncategorized
Man and woman saluting

On November 15, 2014, the Museum of the American Military Family, the City of Albuquerque , ChoppHearse, the Albuquerque Balloon Museum, and dozens of other organizations and groups collaborated on a “Salute to Our Heroes”. It was an amazing event.

Salute to Heros Poster

 

 

Flag line and person bearing Memorial Folded Flag outside at Salute to Heroes Veterans Day Celebration 2014
Motorcyclists in jackets entering Salute to Heroes Veterans Day Celebration 2014
Mr. & Mrs. Olson holding small flags at Salute to Heroes Veterans Day Celebration 2014

 

The event started off with a motorcade and a flag line. Museum visitors joined cadets from several JROTC and ROTC units, the Young Marines and Bataan Military Academy. Distinguished guests from the National Guard, the City of Albuquerque and Service Organizations joined the procession into the Balloon Museum, where Director Sandor Cohen welcomed them, saying,

“WE ARE TRULY HONORED TO BE HERE TODAY AS PART OF A VERY SPECIAL OCCASION THAT PAYS TRIBUTE TO OUR BELOVED VETERANS – DEFENDERS OF OUR FREEDM – AND TO SUPPORT A VERY SPECIAL NEW MUSEUM IN THE ALBUQUERQUE AREA THAT NOT ONLY HONORS THE HEROES IN OUR MILITARY…BUT THAT ALSO TELLS THE STORY OF THEIR FAMILIES AND LOVED ONES, WHO EQUALLY EXEMPLIFY THAT SAME SENSE OF DUTY AND SACRIFICE AND LOVE OF COUNTRY THAT WE FIND IN THOSE WHO SERVE.”

 

As part of the program, there was a very moving flag folding ceremony followed by MAMF Director, Circe Olson Woessner accepting the flag,  and reminding the audience,

“…So when celebrating Veterans Day, we should remember all of our Veterans, by thanking them for their service, listening to their stories…welcoming them home, but we also need to remember the ones who have died without ever telling their stories, the ones who are living in poverty on the streets, the ones that have no family or are being honored by strangers. Today, we specially honor them and welcome them to our family. ” » Read more

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FOR MAMF, NO LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

Events, Military Family Members, Military News, Museum of the American Military Family, The Board of Directors
Raising flag

By Allen Dale Olson, MAMF Secretary/Public Affairs

When the MAMF exhibit, “Sacrifice & Service: The American Military Family,” closed on August 31, it had seen 17,116 visitors since opening on May 26 in the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. And that doesn’t include the members of the Albuquerque Museum Collaborative Council or all the elementary and middle school kids who attended summer science camps in the Nuclear Museum. There were 145 VIPs at the Opening Reception on May 30.Sacrifice & Service Poster for Nuclear Museum

 

 

But the exhibit was more than an exhibit. There were book readings by Steve Sparks, R. Sam Baty, and J. Allen Whitt. Four Poets – Caroline LeBlanc, Circe Olson Woessner, Jacqueline Murray Loring, and Karen Bradberry entertained with touching and humorous excerpts from letters and messages about family life in the military. » Read more

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/28/2014           

Brats, Events, Military Family Members, Military News, Museum of the American Military Family
The Telling Project Albuquerque NM logo

Albuquerque Military Veterans and Family Members Perform their Stories of Service in  Telling, Albuquerque

Location: South Broadway Cultural Center

Dates / Times: September 11, 13, 19, 20 – 7pm

September 14, 21 – 2pm

Free to the Public

 

In 2014, The Telling Project w ill produce 8 original performances: Denver, CO; Portland, OR; Baltimore, MD; Albuquerque, NM; San Antonio, TX; Austin, TX; College Station, TX; and New York, NY.  More than 70 military veterans and military veterans will speak to audiences of tens of thousands around the country.

Albuquerque, NM, is the third host for The Telling Project’s 2014 season, and is co-produced by the Museum of the American Military Family, in collaboration with Working Group Theater, underwritten by the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

Cast members include individuals who served in the Navy, Army, and Air Force. Audiences will hear stories from Vietnam combatants and conscientious objectors, women who served a full career in the military, as well as reflections by family members of military personnel. From helicopters, to ships, to the jungle floor; from broadcasting live through rocket fire, to playfully clanking bombs together in warehouses; from intimate battles to come to terms with experiences a lifetime ago, to the transformations that follow; Telling, Albuquerque will speak to a diverse range of military and military family experiences.  All performers are Albuquerque residents who, wanting their communities to understand who they are and what they have undertaken over the last half-century.

Timed to coincide with the anniversary of September 11th, Telling, Albuquerque is a an opportunity to engage the Albuquerque area in an intimate, complex, and richly various conversation concerning military experience, veterans, military families, and war in a moment when the nation is contemplating these matters.

No press opening will be held, although access to rehearsals, interviews with cast and crew, and background  information on The Telling Project and Telling, Albuquerque can be arranged in advance of the performance by contacting:

 

Max Rayneard, The Telling Project

541 556 4368

Max@thetellingproject.org

http://thetellingproject.org

 

“We hear about war on the news, but we don’t hear the personal side, up-close, from those  who lived it. That’s about to change.” Kyle Taylor, Baltimore Sun.

“Go see this play.” Mike Rosenberg, Washington Post.

“The best performance of the season, hands down.”  Ben Waterhouse, Willamette Week,    Portland, OR, 2010.

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