VA Toledo Clinic to Hold Blue Star Memorial Dedication
Toledo, Ohio (PRWEB) May 16, 2014 -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Toledo Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) will hold a dedication ceremony for its newly installed Blue Star Memorial on Friday, May 23, 2014 at 1:00 p.m.
“We are honored to have the Blue Star Memorial installed at our Toledo clinic,” said VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System (VAAAHS) Director Robert P. McDivitt. “It is an excellent addition to our facility and it reinforces our mission to Honor America’s Veterans.”
The Blue Star Memorial Program is a program of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. and honors America’s service men and women. The Toledo Blue Star Memorial Plaque was donated by the Anthony Wayne Garden Club of Toledo. The public is encouraged and welcome to attend the dedication ceremony on Friday, May 23, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at the VA Toledo CBOC located at 1200 South Detroit Avenue, Toledo, OH 43614.
About the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Since 1953, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System which includes the VA Ann Arbor Medical Center, the VA Toledo Community Based Outpatient Clinic [CBOC], the VA Flint CBOC, and the VA Jackson CBOC, as well as the VA Center for Clinical Management Research, an HSR&D Center of Excellence, has provided state-of-the-art healthcare services to the men and women who have proudly served our nation. More than 61,000 Veterans living in a 15-county area of Michigan and Northwest Ohio utilized VAAAHS in fiscal year 2013. The Ann Arbor Medical Center also serves as a referral center for specialty care.
About the Blue Star Memorial
The Blue Star Memorial Program honors service men and women. This program began with the planting of 8,000 Dogwood trees by the New Jersey Council of Garden Clubs in 1944 as a living memorial to veterans of World War II. In 1945, the National Council of State Garden Clubs adopted the program and began a Blue Star Highway system, which covers thousands of miles across the Continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. A large metal Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker was placed at appropriate locations along the way.
The program was expanded to include all men and women who had served, were serving or would serve in the armed services of the United States. Memorial Markers and By-Way markers were added to the Highway Markers, to be used at locations such as National cemeteries, parks, veteran's facilities and gardens.
The Blue Star became an icon in World War II and was seen on flags and banners in homes for sons and daughters away at war, as well as in churches and businesses. This program has been active all through the years to the present, a fitting tribute always and especially now.
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Derek Atkinson, Veterans Health Administration, http://www.annarbor.va.gov, +1 (734) 845-5043, [email protected]
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