Though people in the Yuma, Az., area continue to stoically put up with the high heat of the desert that always comes this time of year, it won't be long before temperatures cool and vacationers again flock to Southwest Arizona. After all, locals know better than anyone that nothing can compare to the moderate weather of a Yuma winter!
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground engages in a wide variety of Yuma community events each year and we in the Public Affairs Office have been busy making arrangements for many weeks. Highlights include an Army band concert of holiday music on December 7th, parade entries in both the annual Veterans Day and Silver Spur Rodeo parades, ten public tours held in conjunction with the Yuma Visitors Bureau, and a great deal more.
A particular highlight of the winter outreach schedule deserves mention -- the presentations by YPG speakers to take place at the Yuma County Main and Foothills libraries. These presentations feature experienced speakers using PowerPoint slides to illustrate the topics each has researched himself. All the presentations are free and you are invited to attend. Tickets are not needed. You're bound to find the experience educational, interesting and fun. Following are the presentations on tap for the 2016/2017 winter season:
November 9, 2016; Presenter: Chuck Wullenjohn, Public Affairs Officer
"The U.S. Flag and the U.S. Army -- Two Destinies Intertwined." The U.S. Army won and then protected America's liberty throughout our history -- essentially, there would be no United States without the Army. Learn the colorful history of our national flag and interesting, important facts about Army life.
10 a.m. -- Foothills Library
3 p.m. -- Main Library
November 30, 2016; Presenter: Bill Heidner, Director Heritage Center and Museum
"From Patton to Victory -- Dynamic Army Training in the Southwest Helps Bring About World War II Victory." Perhaps the most celebrated general officer of World War II, Gen. George S. Patton, established the Desert Training Center, with Yuma as its southern anchor. Over 1.5 million Army troops came to the Desert Southwest to train for battle. It was an amazing undertaking that helped shape the Army for victory.
10 a.m. -- Main Library
3 p.m. -- Foothills Library
December 13, 2016; Presenter: Mark Schauer, Public Affairs Specialist
"UFOs? Cold War Frost in the Yuma Desert." In the 1950's, Yuma Proving Ground Soldiers reported seeing something in the night sky never definitively explained. Was it an intercontinental missile from the Soviet Union? Natural phenomenon? Spacecraft from another planet?
10 a.m. -- Foothills Library
3 p.m. -- Main Library
January 24, 2017; Presenter: Bill Heidner, Director Heritage Center and Museum
"The Most Significant Explorer You Never Knew -- William Emory." The founding of the American West was possible largely to a group of Army officers who belonged to the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Among the most influential was Lt. William Emory. Never heard of him? Come learn about this great explorer who gave early American pioneers so much knowledge of the Southwest.
10 a.m. -- Foothills Library
3 p.m. -- Main Library
February 2, 2017; Presenter: Chuck Wullenjohn, Public Affairs Officer
"Help Never Came -- The 75th anniversary of the early World War II Military Tragedy on Bataan and Corregidor." Early 1942 witnessed the largest surrender of U.S. forces in the history of our nation. At Bataan and Corregidor, upwards of 70,000 U.S. and Filipino troops held out for many months against overwhelming odds. The bitter and infamous Bataan Death March resulted, an event that became a battle cry for Americans throughout World War II. The story of what occurred is one of courage and tenacity that has been forgotten by many, but richly deserves remembering.
10 a.m. -- Foothills Library
3 p.m. -- Main Library
February 15, 2017; Presenter: Mark Schauer, Public Affairs Specialist
"UFOs? Cold War Frost in the Yuma Desert." In the 1950's, Yuma Proving Ground Soldiers reported seeing something in the night sky never definitively explained. Was it an intercontinental missile from the Soviet Union? Natural phenomenon? Spacecraft from another planet?
10 a.m. -- Main Library
4:30 p.m. -- Foothills Library
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