U.S. National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Becky Vanshur
By Maj. Gen John B. Hashem, USA (Ret.), ROA Executive Director
When I deployed to Iraq in 2007, my son was two years old. When I came home at mid-tour for his third birthday, it took him a couple of days to fully reacquaint. I know I am not unique in that these moments never leave you. It cuts through every polished phrase about sacrifice and service. When a citizen-service member answers the nation’s call, the family answers it too. While the child does not wear the uniform, the child carries part of the burden.
That is why the Month of the Military Child belongs in the same conversation as America’s 250th birthday. This year’s DoW Month of the Military Child theme says it well: “Legacy of Resilience: 40 Years of Nourishing Our Military Children’s Future.” Military OneSource says the 2026 observance focuses on the strength and resilience of military-connected youth. America250 frames this anniversary as a time to reflect on our past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look toward the future we want for the next generation. Put those two ideas together and the connection becomes obvious.
America began with citizens who left home, work, and their families to serve when the country needed them. Two hundred and fifty years later, that model holds and the Guard and Reserve keep it alive every day. We usually focus on the person in uniform. But that is only part of the picture. The fuller picture includes the spouse who keeps the home front together and the child who learns early that duty can take a parent away while the family still must carry on.
Our children know the packed bag by the door. They know the missed birthday, the uneven homecoming, and the strange moment when service interrupts family life and everybody has to adjust on the fly. They learn resilience before they know the word itself. They learn that love of country is not abstract and shows up in absence, uncertainty, patience, and endurance.
That is the bridge between yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Yesterday, Americans built this country through citizens who stepped out of private life and into public duty. Today, military children live beside that duty and absorb part of its cost. Tomorrow, many of them will carry forward the same ethic, whether they wear the uniform themselves or simply live out the belief that citizenship comes with obligations.
My son did not know me when I came home for his third birthday. While that stung, it taught me something I have never forgotten: the citizen-service member is not just the one who goes. It is the whole family that learns how to live with duty.
At 250, let’s honor that whole picture. honor the parent who goes, and honor the child who stays, adapts, and grows. That child may be the clearest proof that this country’s citizen-service tradition still has plenty of road ahead.