Marines Memorial Association

Programs: 2018 marked the 13th annual gold star parents honor and remembrance weekend at marines' memorial, an event that provides a safe and compassionate environment where families come together to commemorate their loved ones killed in action, bond over their shared grief, receive support services and counseling specific to their current situation and build a lasting community at little to no cost to them. What started as a few families informally coming together for a reprieve from grief has grown to more than 100 gold star parents and their children participating in a professional support offering.

our living memorial is an exemplary and unique memorial that honors both the sacrifices of those who have paid the ultimate price, as well as veterans and those who are currently serving our country. Our museum, library and lobby displays exhibit authentic artifacts and information on u. S. Military history, as well as individuals and units that have contributed to our country's military heritage. Our displays are a constant "work in progress" with minor changes or full-scale revisions being constantly accomplished. In the past year, we have added five new living memorial displays to honor those who have served, including a tribute to operation enduring freedom. We have also presented the navy cross hall of valor, as well as addied 29 individual bricks - reflecting 2017 casualties - to our tribute wall. These join the over 6,000 fallen warriors from operation enduring freedom and iraqi freedom. A new addition to our displays also honors those u. S. Military personnel who lost their lives on 9/11. The living memorial also encompasses our aid and assist program through which we were able to grant 2,625 complimentary memberships in marines' memorial association to active duty service members and reservists giving. These free memberships give them the opportunity to stay at our living memorial for a drastically reduced price as they transition to a new duty stations, attend training in the area or are looking for a chance to network with other veterans as they begin their transition to civilian life.

last year, our commemorative and educational events program offered more events than ever before, all still free and open to the public. Special speaker events had guests ranging from award-winning filmmaker and journalist sebastian junger to admiral james g. Stavridis, usn (ret. ) for our george p. Shultz lecture series. Commemoration events memorializing battles fought at iwo jima, anzac day, belleau wood and the vietnam war as well as many meet the author events. We also established a brand new "leadership lessons learned" series featuring men and women who have been extremely successful in business after they left the u. S. Armed forces. These veterans share the lessons they learned during their military service and how they translated them to success in business. This forum gives young veterans the opportunity to personally engage with these individuals directly and helps them navigate the transition to civilian life and the challenges of gaining entry into the prestigious career opportunities of the bay area, silicon valley and elsewhere.

1. The association publishes a quarterly association magazine titled "crossroads of the corps" to provide summaries of the commemorative and educational programs held at the club. 20,000 copies of each quarterly issue are provided to marines' memorial members, donors, active duty service members and the local community. 2. In 2018, the association awarded 30 scholarships to student veterans and students from veteran families veterans totaling $125,000. Each scholarship was between $2,500 and $5,000 awards and awarded for many different majors to a variety of accredited colleges and universities. 3. Last year, we sent 265 care packages to our troops serving overseas during the summer months and holiday season with tailored supplies specifically for their current situation curated by veterans, both on our staff and our volunteers.