My Visit to Fort Bragg

This past weekend's trip to Fort Bragg was a great experience. I arrived Saturday evening and was greeted by one of the founding members of FUBAR and Warriors’ Promise, Ken Hunt. Ken recently retired from the Army after 27 years of service. He was a Green Beret. His father, Master Sergeant William B. Hunt was Vietnam Special Forces and went MIA after being shot from above in Vietnam. It happened when Ken was 5 years old, so he doesn't remember him much. He has spent most of his life asking questions and trying to search for him or any last detail that he can track down.

On Sunday morning, Ken and I were scheduled to meet at the US Sports Bar on Fort Bragg where I would be signing autographs and hanging out with the soldiers and their families.

When we first arrived on the Fort, we set up our display at the bar where lots of families and individuals would be watching Sunday Football. We displayed all the FUBAR and Warrior's Promise give-aways we had. We gave out drinks, bars, stickers, patches, T-shirts, hats, and autograph cards from me and Nascar driver, Johnny Sauter. There was a great turnout.



(This is a picture of an inscriptions on one of the memorials at the site dedicated to the memory of the soldiers in the 82nd Airborne Division who made the ultimate sacrifice for America. It is one of my favorite pictures because it is a reminder about who the true "All-Americans" are.)

The visit at the sports bar went very fast. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to actually play volleyball with the troops and their families, but hopefully we will plan a summer visit and get people out using the courts. The sand courts looked very nice, but November in North Carolina is not a good month for beach volleyball... A little too cold for me! I did get the chance to talk to a lot of the soldiers. Most of them were either returning from or getting ready to go back to Iraq or Afghanistan.



After the Sports Bar, Ken showed me around the Fort. The visit was very nostalgic for him. He was born at Fort Bragg and had been stationed there many years ago himself. We visited Special Forces Memorials for our fallen soldiers including Master Sergeant William B. Hunt, Ken's father. It was a special moment that I was proud to share with Ken.

He also showed me around a few of the museums. My favorite was the old aircraft. When I was young, I collected plastic toy replicas of these old, beautiful planes. I felt like a wide-eyed kid again.

It was a great weekend that was very special for me. It has inspired me to do more. I want to encourage all the civilians I know to thank our veterans and active military. These holidays, please do not forget them.

One way to honor our soldiers is to support the Warrior's Promise Foundation. The mission of the Warrior's Promise Foundation is to improve the quality of life for the men and women of the military community in need. Please read more about it at http://www.warriorspromise.org/.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Holiday!

Angie

PS. I just posted all the pictures from my trip to my website. Go to www.angieakers.com and click on the Gallery to find Fort Bragg 2008 pictures.