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Washington, D.C., April 8th – The House of Representatives today approved a resolution (H. Res. 265) authored by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) which honors the children of American service members by recognizing April as the National Month of the Military Child.
“We ask a lot of our troops,” said Congressman Moran. “But the sacrifices they make are often shared, because the military family is a unit that travels in spirit wherever duty calls. This resolution honors those who serve, especially all the little soldiers holding down the fort while mom or dad is away.”
Tricia Johnson, co-founder of Kids Serve Too, a military family advocacy group, has firsthand experience with the strain having a spouse serving overseas puts on children. Her husband, an army reservist, has served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. “Congressman Moran truly understands the sacrifice that children make when they have a mom or dad deployed. I thank Congress for recognizing that these children deserve the gratitude of our nation,” said Johnson.
Clare Lanigan, Mrs. Johnson’s daughter, age 16, went on to add, “We hope people honor these children all year round, not just in April.”
More than a quarter of a million soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are currently deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other points around the globe. According to the Department of Defense, nearly 50% of these deployed service members have children left behind.
Today, more than one million children in the U.S. have a parent or family member currently serving active military duty. Half of all military children are under the age of seven, and many live in single parent families or families where both parents are in the military. Over 3,400 military children have lost a parent deployed overseas since September, 2001.
In 1986, Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger declared April the National Month of the Military Child, recognizing the need to provide quality services and support for children of military families. Every Secretary of Defense since has continued this tradition.
H. Res. 265 Co-sponsors (37): Bordallo, Boyda, Brady (PA), Burton, Calvert, Carney, Castor, Conyers, Hare, Hayes, Hinojosa, Issa, E.B. Johnson (TX), Jones (NC), Kaptur, Kennedy, LaHood, Lamborn, Lews (GA), McCotter, McHugh, McIntyre, Meehan (Ret.), Meek, Miller (FL), Moran (VA), Ortiz, Peterson (MN), Poe, Rangel, Reyes, Rothman, Ryan (OH), Sestak, Sutton, Tauscher, Wilson (SC).
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