Edition No. 72
Arts and Culture
May is National Military Appreciation Month recognizing and honoring all U.S. service members. photo credit: national archive
Community and Family
An award-winning novel comes alive at Redford Theatre in Detroit.
Celebrate Military Appreciation Month
May is designated as National Military Appreciation Month to recognize and honor all U.S. service members. During the month, Armed Forces Day and Military Spouses Appreciation Day are celebrated and the month culminates with the celebration of Memorial Day.
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is one of three museums that currently houses the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum. The facility is dedicated to honoring the legacy and achievements of the nation's first All-Black air fighter squadron.
The museum is a repository for the oral and written history of the Tuskegee Airmen and boasts the largest collection of Airmen artifacts in the world. With respect for the past and solid investment in the future, the museum is proud to be a springboard to inspire the next generation of aviators and aerospace enthusiasts through targeted youth programs.
Did you know: The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded 8 Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars, 3 Distinguished Unit Citations, and 744 Air Medals and Clusters for their service in the U.S. military? Learn more at the button below!
The War Memorial is proud to set aside once again an entire week to honor our community’s veterans, military service members, and their families with special programs and events leading up to Memorial Day. Both Our Community Salutes on May 26 and the annual Memorial Day Service on May 30 will provide a time for community members to come together to recognize, reflect, and pay our to respects veterans, military members, and their families.
Award-winning novel comes alive at Detroit theater
The stage adaptation of a 2015 book is being hailed as an honest, unsentimental celebration of the power of love. Peter Ferry’s award-winning novel Old Heart, about an 85-year-old American World War II veteran searching for the Jewish translator he fell in love with, opens May 14 live on stage at the historic Redford Theatre in Detroit.
The play, set in Detroit and the Netherlands during World War II and in 2006, is scheduled on May 14 at 7 p.m. and May 15 at 4 p.m. Directed by Karl King, the stage adaptation of Old Heart is co-produced by Detroit’s beloved Redford Theatre, located at 17360 Lahser Road.
The play tells the story of American GI Tom Johnson who joins forces with 24-year-old Sarah van Praag and the Dutch resistance to smuggle food and supplies from the liberated southern Netherlands across Nazi lines to starving cities in the northern Netherlands. Their brief love affair collapses at the end of the war, and 60 years later Johnson, about to be sent off to assisted living by his family, disappears on a flight to Amsterdam. While his children desperately try to locate him, Johnson is determined to track down Sarah.
This acclaimed novel has garnered a steadily widening readership since its first appearance in 2015. Dave Eggers called the book “astonishing.” The Chicago Tribune says the novel “will stay with you for keeps.” And Publishers Weekly asserts the novel is “life-affirming.”
To purchase tickets or to learn more about the play, visit the link at the button below.
Inspired Thoughts is a collection of highly curated content that embraces the spirit and purpose of The War Memorial: arts and culture, community enrichment, leadership, and patriotism.
Derived from the notion that learning from others is the key to success, Inspired Thoughts is meant to shine a light on those making a difference in the world around them. This collection features artists, poets, writers, architects, and every thought leader in-between. Inspired Thoughts is the strongest reflection of what The War Memorial stands for, and what we aim to be.
The content featured on Inspired Thoughts is curated by War Memorial leadership — we also look forward to featuring special guest curators in the near future. If you are interested in providing content for Inspired Thoughts, please email our Communications team at dmurphy@warmemorial.org.