First Lady Marks 9/11 With Service to Veterans

First Lady Marks 9/11 With Service to Veterans
By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 11, 2010 – First Lady Michelle Obama marked the ninth anniversary of 9/11 today with service to America’s veterans.


The first lady pitched in alongside a group of about 150 volunteers, including veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, to help in renovating a loading dock for residents of the Vinson Hall Retirement Community here. About 95 percent of the community’s 180 residents are veterans, some with service dating back to World War II.

Mission Serve, a civilian-military initiative, helped to organize the community service project at the center in honor of the National Day of Service and Remembrance. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, helped to launch this initiative a year ago with an aim to bring together civilian and military communities through service and volunteerism.

The volunteers, many of them college students from George Washington University, gave a resounding cheer when Obama arrived at the center, nestled in a tree-lined suburb of the natgion’s capital. She greeted the volunteers, many with a big smile and a high five, before jumping in to work with them.

“We’re always honored when the first lady joins us,” said Ross Cohen, director of Mission Serve and an Afghanistan veteran. “It’s a profound statement to turn a tragedy into a force for good.”
read more here
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60816