Eastern Florida Salutes Veterans with Special USO Show

Saluting veterans and educating students about the sacrifices made by members of the Armed Forces will be the focus of an upcoming USO-style show at Eastern Florida State College.

The Nov. 13 “Stars & Stripes Show” will feature a 1940’s revival featuring singers and dancers from the Made in America entertainment group performing World War II-era music.

There will also be exhibits and speakers from Brevard County’s veteran community.

The free show is open to the public will be held under the outside Pavilion on the Melbourne campus from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

It’s sponsored by the Melbourne Campus Student Government Association and the Eastern Florida State College Veterans Network.

“We try to make an effort every year at this time to recognize our veterans and show them how much everyone at Eastern Florida appreciates what they do for us,” said Daniele Redding, student activities director on the Melbourne campus.

“This year we wanted to add something special for students and the community, which led us to the USO show. It will be a great opportunity for students to learn about the history of entertaining our troops and a lot of fun as well.”

Some 875 veterans are currently taking courses at Eastern Florida as more return home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and seek civilian careers.

Those large numbers were another motivation for student organizers in creating a program that would draw wide interest.

“We continue to see an increase in the number of military veterans returning to school, particularly at EFSC,” said Garrett Pomichter, president and co-founder of the college’s Veterans Network and an Army veteran.

“This growing segment of the student population presents a unique set of challenges and resources to our academic community. Through increased public awareness, these veterans and the entire veterans' community can reach their full potential.”

Other organizations helping stage the event include The USO Orlando Project, Honor Flight, Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard, American Veterans Enrichment Team and the college’s Small Business Development Center.