The Alabama Cooperative Extension Military Youth Program is having "Purple Up!" Day on Monday, April 15 to show support for military children across the state and country.
"Whenever you combine all of the different branches of service, coast guard blue, navy blue, air force blue, army green and marine red, it turns into purple," said Rachel Simpson, Operation Military Child coordinator and military liason. "Whenever an organization is considered purple, it is open to all branches. In order for this day to celebrate all branches and all military youth, they came up with purple."
As part of Month of the Military Child, "Purple Up!" Day encourages people to wear purple in support of these children.
"A lot of the time people don't really recognize the sacrifices that military children do give up," Simpson said. "Parents aren't always there for graduation or big recitals or all the big moments in life."
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Hemmes, Auburn's Air Force ROTC commander, said military children have a unique situation because they are not given the opportunity to choose the military lifestyle.
"We as adults, we sign up for the military," Hemmes said. "We know what we're getting into as far as some of the sacrifices we have to make, as far as moving every couple years, deploying and so forth. Kids don't sign up for that. They're born into it, and it's just what they have. I think it's a great thing that their sacrifices are recognized."
Hemmes has been in the Air Force for 24 years and has five children that have experienced the life of a military child.
"I find when they're little they go wherever mom and dad go, no complaints," Hemmes said. "But as they get older, it comes more difficult for them to leave their friends and start a new school. It's not always easy for them to do that."
"Purple Up!" Day is a nationwide event, but Simpson said different counties in Alabama are adding events to the month. For example, different counties are card-writing parties, where non-military children write letters of support to military children and building Hero Packs, which are backpacks that have supplies and letters of thanks in them.
Also supporting the efforts of Month of the Military Child is Niffers. All Niffers in the area are offering 10 percent of customer's receipts if the customer writes Operation: Military Child on the back of their receipt anytime in April.
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