The post will have a display set up through the middle of June.
Ft, Detrick, Md (KM) Fort Detrick is honoring the fallen this Memorial Day, and their families. Flags and several placards haver been placed along Porter Street, which is described as the post’s “main drag.” They will remain up from Friday, May 28th to Tuesday, June 15th.
The effort was put together by the Survivors Outreach Services which provides assistance to families from parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. “We have lost so many soldiers, they wanted to create a program, an outreach program, that outreached to the families of the fallen soldier that we lost after 9/11,” says Liz Keirsey, the Coordinator at Fort Detrick for Survivors Outreach Services.
The display has 97 placards which honor the fallen service members who have family in this year. “There will be placards with each service members’ name and their rank. It will be along Porter Street up and down, both sides. And it will accompany 246 American flags which represent the 246th birthday of the Army,” she says.
Kiersey says access to this display by the general public right now is restricted. “It’s hard for the public to get on post. Mostly it is for the civilian employees, obviously, active duty and surviving family members,” she says.
Survivors Outreach Services provides assistance to families who lost loved one, and are trying to cope. Keirsey says some of those services include grief counseling, financial education, estate planning and educational planning for children. “The big thing with the program is we just want these families to know that they are recognized., and that they are part of the Army family as long as they want to be,” she says. “:They have paid the ultimate sacrifice and we honor their them and we recognize them and their deceased service members.”
By Kevin McManus