By Cavan McIntyre-Brewer, 2015 Army Military Child of the Year
Operation Homefront gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. I was honored with a 2015 Military Child of the Year award, along with five other military kids, and had the chance to travel to our nation’s capital and meet some of the people who keep this country safe. Operation Homefront probably didn’t realize it, but they actually granted one of my life dreams: to see the Greensboro Lunch Counter at the National Museum of American History.
Last summer I got to see Stanley Nelson, Jr.’s production of Freedom Summer, a documentary of the attempt to register as many African Americans in Mississippi as possible in 1964. The movie changed me. It made me ask questions about the history of our country and challenged me to look at the world in a different way. One of the moments in history that it depicted was the sit-in by college students at a Woolworth’s store in 1960. The courage of those young black men helped build confidence in people all over the country to make strides for equality for everyone. Their willingness to make a statement that they were Americans who deserved the same rights as white people showed me that our country may not be perfect, but we live in a place where citizens can take a stand and bring about change. Their ambition gave me motivation to continue my efforts to connect the community to those who serve.
Seeing that counter in real life was the perfect way to remind me that being chosen as the Military Child of the Year for the Army wasn’t just about me, but about the work that I still need to do in order to make improvements for our veterans and wounded warriors. It would have been too easy to get swept up in all of the ceremonies and excitement, but Operation Homefront did a great job showing us why we are like those college students who sat at the Woolworth’s counter in 1960. We travelled around Washington, D.C., visiting the service memorials of our great nation. This provided a reminder that the great honor of being chosen as a Military Child of the Year is also a great responsibility.
Each one of the military kids that was recognized is forging a special path that will create change for our country, and our serving parents are like the volunteers involved in the Freedom Summer, willing to sacrifice everything to ensure that all Americans are able to have the freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. That is a lot of pressure for all of us, but I am up to the challenge, and I am sure that the other kids honored along with me will also do a great job. Thank you so much, Operation Homefront, and everyone else who made my time in Washington D.C. a great memory. I will never be able to thank you enough.
Operation Homefront is pleased to present the Military Child of the Year® Award to outstanding military children who demonstrate resiliency, leadership and achievement. Recipients representing each service branch are recognized at a Washington, D.C. Gala celebration in April each year. The seventh annual awards gala was held April 16. In addition to the trip to our nation’s capital, recipients are awarded a laptop computer and a $10,000 award.
