Children of Honor: Gala event set for veterans' non-profit foundation

It's hard to believe that a war like World War II could have actually happened, but what is more unsettling are the number of veterans from "The Greatest Generation" that are tapering off as the millennium rolls forward.

On Saturday, the Families of World War II Veterans foundation will host a gala titled, 'Casino Royale' at 6:30 p.m. at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas for veterans and their families.

The organization, according to the website, familiesww2veterans.org, is "a worldwide, non-profit organization, dedicated to ensuring that the historical lessons of World War II are not forgotten."

Frisco resident Barbara Williams, founder and chair of the non-profit organization and daughter a WWII veteran, said she got the idea for the organization during a trip to Normandy, France. Williams, who was attending a ceremony with her father on the beaches of Normandy, said a veteran was honoring a friend that had died during the war.

"I'm watching this ceremony and not a dry eye -- there were people from all over the world and you could hear a pin drop," Williams said. "The vet that was honoring his friend that died ...he was placing a flag there at the memorial site and Taps was playing, and I looked back and you look at these -- 9,000 tombstones of our service men who died there and are buried there from that, and it's just an unbelievable event. I think that moved me to think about what I could do, so that trip really started the whole ball rolling."

Williams, who said she started the non-profit three years ago, decided she wanted to create a scholarship program as well to educate the younger generations on the depth of the war.

"I thought maybe there's a way to motivate them to learn about it -- short of getting them there, and so that's how to idea of scholarships came to be," Williams said, "that we could do it in the memory of the vets and they get to write an essay about the war ... I thought it was a great way to tie the two things together, but it would honor the legacy of the vets while they're still alive."

Williams said last year the organization issued 12 scholarships to students and this year, they have "stacks and stacks of applications."

During the event, keynote speaker Admiral Patrick Walsh, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet will speak to the attendees, The Victory Belles from the National World War II Museum in New Orleans will serve as the entertainment, and a professional dance duo will perform a swing-dance routine.

The black-tie event is free to attend and includes a buffet dinner. Attendees can participate in a silent auction, raffle, and casino games for a small fee. All of the proceeds from the event will go towards the scholarship program.

Current Rating: 0 of 0 votes!

Rate File: Select Rating: * ** *** ****

 Plano Apartments
 Plano Attorneys
 Plano Auto Dealers
 Plano Auto Parts
 Plano Auto Repair
 Plano Beauty Salons
 Plano Car Rental
 Plano Dentists
 Plano Doctors
 Plano Flowers
 Plano Hotels
 Plano Insurance
 Plano Loans
 Plano Mortgages
 Plano Movers
 Plano Pizza
 Plano Realtors
 Plano Restaurants
 Plano Storage
 Plano Tax Preparation
 Plano Travel
 Featured
 More...