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WASHINGTON, July 31, 2006 – The Defense Department announced today it will hold the second annual America Supports You Freedom Walk on Sept. 10, the night before the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. This year’s America Supports You Freedom Walk in the nation’s capital will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will follow a two-mile route from the National Mall to the Pentagon. Participants will pass several national memorials, then will proceed over Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery before arriving at the Pentagon. Immediately following the walk, musical star Denyce Graves will perform. Last year’s inaugural walk drew more than 15,000 participants, including family members of Sept. 11 victims and members of Congress. It also inspired more than two dozen cities across the country to hold their own Freedom Walks as a new tradition of patriotic support, and the number is expected to grow. In Sebring, Ohio, 9-year-old Colton Lockner is organizing a Freedom Walk for his hometown. Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping military families, is overseeing walks in several cities. Chicago also has pledged its support to launch the city’s first Freedom Walk, and mayors Tammy Moore of Belleview, Fla., and Ernie Currier of Enid, Okla., are among the growing number of city officials creating new Freedom Walk traditions in their cities and towns. Anyone interested in starting a local Freedom Walk can download the Freedom Walk planning guide for assistance and recommendations and register it on the America Supports You Web site. The locations of all registered Freedom Walks are available on the America Supports You Web site. The America Supports You Freedom Walk is free and open to the public. People interested in walking in the Washington, D.C., Freedom Walk must register at the America Supports You Web site. Registration closes at 10 a.m. EDT Sept. 8. For a complete list of events the Defense Department will be participating in to mark Sept. 11, check the America Supports You Web site for updates. America Supports You is an ongoing nationwide program launched by DoD to help showcase Americans’ support for U.S. military men and women and their families and communicate that support to members of the armed forces at home and abroad.
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