FORT KNOX, Kentucky - The Adjutant General of the Army, Brig. Gen. David MacEwen, representing U.S. Army Human Resources Command, spoke in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 25 at the dedication of displays commemorating the volunteer efforts of that city in support of America's uniformed service members.
"We are here today to commemorate the many thousands of employees, volunteers, families and friends of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Department of Defense civilian employees who were warmly welcomed on the runways and in the concourses of this fine facility; service men and women who made their way from a theater of war back home to their loved ones or vice versa: those returning to their comrades in arms on a distant battlefield," said MacEwen.
Between September 2003 and March 2012, the Welcome Home a Hero program provided comfort and caring to more than 900,000 U.S. service men and women, civilians and contractors who transited Dallas-Fort Worth Airport while deploying to or returning from Southwest Asia during the decade of the Global War on Terrorism.
As a key hub of U.S. Central Command's Rest and Recuperation Leave Program, the DFW Welcome Home a Hero center provided both service members and civilians deployed in support of Operations New Dawn in Iraq and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan with a caring setting for reunions and farewells as they arrived from or departed for their tours of duty in the Middle East.
MacEwen said that USAHRC and the Personnel Assistance Point it established at DFW set the stage for those greetings and leave takings, but they would not have been possible without the unflagging support of tens of thousands of volunteers and hundreds of businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area: for eight years, 365 days a year, volunteers supported the transiting members on some 2,700 flights, making a critical contribution to the nation's warriors and their missions overseas.
"The R & R program not only promoted and increased operational effectiveness by mitigating the effects of prolonged combat stress and family separation, the program became increasingly important as an ever greater number of Soldiers underwent multiple deployments and families were left to cope at home," he said.
Other distinguished speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included Sean Donahue, chief executive officer of DFW Airport; Phil Parisi, chief financial officer of the USO; and a number of corporate leaders.
The commemorative displays document the community's contributions to the Welcome Home a Hero program. They are located in the airport's observation park, Founders Plaza, and are open to the public.
"On behalf of every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Coast Guardsman and civilian who serves this great nation, I thank you for your patriotism, your sacrifice and your recognition of what it means to serve others," MacEwen said.
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