April – Month of The Military Child

The DeMarco Project Speaks

By Kim J. Clark

Aka Expanding Love

When we think of those who serve in the military, the men and women in uniform instantly come

to mind. However, let’s not forget about the children whose lives are affected by their parent’s

decision to serve. To honor the children, the month of April was established as the Month of The

Military Child in 1986 by former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger to show support and to

thank military children for their strength and sacrifices.

When we think about military service related trauma, in our innocence we forget about how the

children of military personnel may be affected. Military children have higher stress and anxiety

than their civilian counterparts. There are a host of challenges the children face. Frequent

disruption of friendships, adapting to life in new military communities and disruption in their

medical care which can be very traumatic for children with chronic physical and mental illnesses

to name few. Some of the children deal with combat related injuries and illness which affect their

parents. Some must deal with the loss of a parent.

Within the month of April, the military educational system set aside a special day to honor these

young heroes and sheroes. “Purple Up! For Military Kids” will be celebrated across the

Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) on Wednesday, April 18th. The DoDEA

manages all schools for military children and teenagers in the United States and overseas at

American military bases worldwide. On this day the DoDEA Communities wear purple to show

support and thank military children for their role as military family members. Purple is the color

worn this day. The color was chosen because it symbolizes the combined colors of all branches

of the military, Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red, and Navy blue.

Because of the limited amount of space for this article, this writer encourages you to visit the

DoDEA link, https://www.dodea.edu/dodeaCelebrates/Military-Child-Month.cfm to learn more.

This writer would like to invite the readers to join us in celebrating the” Month of the Military

Child” by recognizing their sacrifices. The link above offers suggestions such as: Saluting

military children at sporting events and teachers saluting military children. In addition to those

suggestions, we invite you to give the children a shout out on social media: Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram and You Tube.

Kim is the mother of a veteran who loved his country and was willing to lay his life down for the

freedoms he believed in. She is the CEO and founder of The DeMarco Project, Non-profit

organization. Her life’s mission it to save veteran lives and improve the quality of life for

traumatized military service persons. If you would like to support her in the work, donations are

welcome. Visit the website; www.TheDeMarcoProject.org.

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