Military Heritage Museum

                                Monday, May 27th 201

                       Location: Veterans Park

                                  100 Nesbit Street
                                  Punta Gorda, FL 33950

                           Ceremonies will begin at 11:00 am

PUNTA GORDA, FL – The Military Heritage Museum of Punta Gorda will host a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 27 at the Veterans Park gazebo in Laishley Park. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. by Master of Ceremonies Sam Harris, followed by a public reception for all visitors, at the new location at 900 West Marion Avenue in Punta Gorda.
 

The honored guest speaker will be Brigadier General Anthony W. “Bud” Bell, USAF Retired. General Bell was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in January of 1971, which began his career through the ranks to Brigadier General. He has held various assignments in communications, as well as command positions at detachment, squadron and group levels. General Bell served in numerous assignments all across the United States, Germany, Italy and Saudi Arabia. He and wife Claudia moved 23 times in 30+ years. General Bell was the recipient of numerous awards and medals throughout his decorated career.
The first Memorial Day honoring those who died in the Civil War was held by the City of Waterloo, New York in 1866, now recognized as the birthplace. Other communities began holding similar events until 1926, when May 30 was designated by Congress as Memorial Day. It was declared a holiday and changed to honor those who died while serving our country.
It was not until 1971 that Memorial Day was changed to the last Monday in May, to allow for a three-day federal holiday weekend. In the 1950’s, the tradition of placing American flags on veteran graves began with Arlington National Cemetery. In 2000, to help reinforce the purpose of the day, the National Moment of Remembrance was added, requesting all Americans to pause for a moment of silence at 3 p.m. in remembrance and respect. Memorial Day is dedicated to honoring over 1.2 million Americans by remembering what their sacrifice meant for our freedom.
 

The Military Heritage Museum is honored to sponsor this event. The museum was founded in 2002 as a place for veterans, their families and friends to donate their military medals, uniforms, mementos and artifacts to help visitors understand our military heritage. Today over 20,000 artifacts, books and photos have been donated to the museum. The new location is open to all visitors, including veterans, their families and friends, school and youth groups and visitors from all across the globe. The museum honors and celebrates veterans past and present, from all branches of the military, from the American Revolutionary War through the 21st century War on Terror. The museum exists to teach its visitors that freedom isn’t free. For more information, visit our website at www.freedomisntfree.org.