The Comfort Crew For Military Kids Is Joining The USO At Charlotte Motor Speedway For A Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration

Online, April 1, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The Comfort Crew for Military Kids is joining Vietnam veterans for a star-studded homecoming celebration at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Vietnam veterans never received the type of homecoming celebration that today's troops receive as they return from service. To honor those who served and the military members who returned from combat, the USO of North Carolina is holding a long, overdue homecoming celebration.

"The service of our Vietnam veterans, especially those that continued to serve after the war, has gone unrecognized for too long. These warriors were the mentors and leaders responsible for today's highly respected and combat-proven military," retired Army Lt. Col. John Falkenbury, USO of NC president, said. "The purpose of the celebrations is to honor the Vietnam veterans, educate the public on the service and sacrifices of the men and women that served, as well as their families, and to provide vital assistance by Veteran Service Organizations."

Hosted by the USO of North Carolina and Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration 2012 is set to be an unforgettable experience featuring live entertainment, displays and demonstrations, military salutes, and much more!

The Comfort Crew for Military Kids is joining in the celebration to recognize and celebrate the service of our Vietnam veterans and to ensure this generation of military children is better taken care of than the last generation who served in the Vietnam War.

The Comfort Crew for Military Kids and the USO are joining forces as part of a worldwide tour to help military children. There are more than 2 million military children in the United States who are dealing with really tough issues and are in great need of support. Of those, approximately 1.2 million are school-aged children and about 900,000 of them have had a parent deployed at least once in the first decade of the War on Terror.

"We are trying to bring attention to the special needs of our nation's military children, many who have lost a parent in combat, experienced the loss of a loved one, is separated from a family member due to deployment, or is coping with fears associated with a family member's injuries sustained during combat," said Trevor Romain, Co-Founder of The Comfort Crew for Military Kids.

According to the Department of Defense, over 45,000 service members have been physically injured and over 229,000 service members have been treated with traumatic brain injuries, and the Office of Veteran's Affairs estimates that over 800,000 service members return with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Entertainment includes The Charlie Daniels Band, George Clinton and much more! For a full list of entertainment and activities click here.

Open to all veterans, their families, community members and media, the event has drawn overwhelming support, as more than 28,000 people have already reserved their free tickets.
Veteran Service Organizations will be on-site to assist veterans. Please bring your DD Form
214 so they can help, if needed.

Reserve your FREE tickets now by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267) and pick up the tickets at will call on the day of the event.

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The Comfort Crew for Military Kids

The Trevor Romain Foundation was first organized with broad goals: to create resources for children facing adversity. Our research for these resources led us to discover that there are 2 million military children in the US who are dealing with really tough issues and are in great need of support.

To that end, in May 2010, the Trevor Romain Foundation established the Comfort Crew for Military Kids, an initiative to help foster resiliency in school-age military children. This initiative is comprised of resources meeting the unique challenges of military life and includes the Foundation's Deployment Resources, Grief Support Resources, and Caregiver Support Resources.

Whether a child has experienced the loss of a loved one, is separated from a family member due to deployment, or is coping with fears associated with a family member's injuries sustained during combat, The Comfort Crew has developed a series of comfort kits that include resources that are both educational and comforting to that child. In general, a comfort kit will include a topic specific DVD, a journal for self expression, a keepsake box, an informative booklet for caregivers, and a plush toy representing Trevor Romain's Comfort Crew.

www.thecomfortcrew.org