Honoring Our Nation's Military Children

Grab your purple and get ready to celebrate the Month of the Military Child! Throughout April, military children worldwide will be honored for their service. Initially recognized by Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger in 1986, this special month highlights the sacrifice made by 1.6 million military children.

This year’s theme is “Celebrating Military Children and Youth: Building Stronger Character and Relationships.” This fitting theme draws attention to the fact that military children move on average every two to three years. These children are frequently asked to start over, switch schools, make new friends, and do it all with a smile.

If you have a military child in your family or you know a military child, we’d like to recommend a few ways to honor their service throughout April and the rest of the year.

1. DoDEA’s worldwide Purple Up Day is April 9, 2025. This is an excellent day to wear your purple to showcase your support of military children and their service to our nation. Spread the word and tell your friends and family about this special day, too.

2. Take your military child out to a special breakfast or dinner to his or her favorite restaurant, or out for ice cream at their favorite place. Let them choose and talk to them about the sacrifices they’ve made over the years and why you appreciate their service. 

3. Check your local MWR (if you live close to a military installation) to find out what special activities they have planned for military kids throughout April. Fort Leonard Wood frequently offers specials for bowling, swimming, arts and crafts, and other events. Add these to your calendar and plan to attend with your child(ren).

4. If you don’t live near a military installation, ask your child’s teacher if your military child and service member can present about military life to the class. Create a slide show with pictures of places the family has lived, unique military customs, and pictures of friends from previous duty stations.

5. Write a letter to your military child about why you’re proud of them and how brave they are. Remind them how unique their lives are and the memories you all have made at different duty stations. Sharing your feelings about how much you admire their courage and how happy you are to share this unique life with them can go a long way, especially with older children.  

However you choose to celebrate, just make sure you do! While often overlooked, the service and sacrifice made by military children is impressive. The more we can do to honor their service, the more opportunity all Americans have to learn more about what it means to serve in the military and be part of a military family.