Commission on Veterans Affairs to Honor County Residents Who Served Country During Black History Month

The Montgomery County Commission on Veterans Affairs will honor County U.S. Uniformed Service members and veterans with detailed virtual tributes displayed on the County’s website to mark Black History Month in February. The tributes will include photos, background information and details of accomplishments during their military careers and afterward.

Detailed tributes will also be displayed throughout February at Buffalo Soldiers Great Hall at the Silver Spring Civic Building. The Black History Month display is free to view any time the Civic Building is open to the public. The Black History Month tribute will be displayed online at https://tinyurl.com/y2cn8h24.

The Silver Spring Civic Building is located at One Veterans Place in Downtown Silver Spring. The main room of the building was dedicated in 2018 as Buffalo Soldiers Great Hall to pay tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers unit that was formed by Congressional legislation in the 1860s to allow African Americans to enlist in the United States military.

“Every veteran who has served in the history of the U.S. military has their own unique story,” said Wayne Miller, chair of the County’s Commission on Veterans Affairs. “It is the intent of our commission to allow residents to learn more about these remarkable people. The veterans we are honoring during Black History Month all have stories that the people of this County should know.”

A veteran can share their story, or someone can share the story of a friend or family member, by filling out the Commission’s Google form or filling out its PDF form. Questions can be directed to MCCVA@montgomerycountymd.gov.

The following information is needed on the forms:

• Servicemember or veteran’s name.
• Name of person submitting information and relationship to the individual.
• Branch of service and rank.
• Years of service.
• Era served (WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Global War on Terror or peacetime/other).
• Brief narrative of their service.
• City in Montgomery County the Veteran lives or lived. If the Veteran attended high school here, where did they graduate from?
• Photos (preferably one during their service and one present day).

By sending an e-mail to be included, the sender agrees to have the information shared on the County’s website and in the Commission on Veterans Affairs social media. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich’s thoughts on helping veterans can be found at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/veterans.

To learn more about the Montgomery Commission on Veterans Affairs, go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cva.