BISMARCK, N.D., - Members of the Interservice Family Assistance Committee (ISFAC), including staff from the North Dakota National Guard's Service Member and Family Support division (SMFS), paid tribute to military children by observing the signing of the Month of the Military Child proclamation by North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven today in the State Capitol building.
April is the Month of the Military Child and was designed to recognize the sacrifices and applaud the courage of military children.
North Dakota National Guard State Youth Coordinator Tonya Sigl said that more than 1.7 million American children younger than 18 have at least one parent serving in the military. It also is estimated that the U.S. Army has more than 900,000 military children with one or both parents having deployed multiple times.
"Oftentimes, our focus is on the service member," said Hoeven. "It's also important for us, however, to celebrate the spirit and will of our military children. The entire military family serves and sacrifices when their loved ones are deployed. This proclamation is just one way to show our appreciation for their contributions to our state and nation."
Jennifer Vannurden, wife of Capt. Walyn Vannurden; commander of the 188th Air Defense Artillery Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) IV in Afghanistan, and their children, Mark and Alaina, joined Hoeven for the signing of the proclamation.
Hoeven pointed out the dedication of military Families in North Dakota by referencing the recent recipients of the national Army Guard Family of the Year award, Sgt. 1st Class Richard Haugen; first sergeant for Detachment 1 of the 816th Engineer Company in Mott, and his wife, Tess Haugen, and their three children. The Haugens were the first North Dakota Army Guard Family to win at the national level.
Col. Dale Adams, director joint staff for the North Dakota National Guard, explained the hardships he's seen his children experience during his more than 30 years of service.
"The service member receives a lot of recognition for what we do, but what's not commonly recognized is the demands of that service that our placed on our children and Families," he said. "Nobody asked them if they'd sign on the dotted line to have their mom or dad absent during their birthdays and celebrations that are important to them."
"We all have one thing in common with the Month of the Military Child in that we were all children once," said Rob Keller, director of the North Dakota National Guard's SMFS division. "And some of us never grow out of that. We're still kids at heart."