veterans’ day
JoelUpdate 12 Nov 2005 9am: Replaced “Tampa Bay area” with “state of Florida” thanks to astute reader Smitty.
According to the 2000 census, there are over 1.8 million veterans living in the Tampa Bay area in the state of Florida. MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa is integral to all our ongoing conflicts abroad, as it is home to Central Command. As of July 2003, 5,200 Florida Nationl Guard personnel had been deployed to Iraq (if someone can find more up-to-date numbers or an estimate of total military personnel, please comment - my Internet skills are apparently lacking today)
Chances are you know someone who has fought or may still be fighting in our Armed Forces. Call them or send them an e-mail, maybe drop by their home. Whether you think the conflicts they fought were just or not, they did their job; for that they deserve much more than just a day off.
Tags: history, tampa
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November 11th, 2005 at 7:41 pm
Um. You might need to revise those numbers.
I don’t know how you define the “Tampa Bay Area,” but if Okaloosa County’s population includes 27.4% veterans (according to the article), and it has the highest such percentage in the state, then if we say every other county has 27.3%, for the TB area to 1.8 million veterans we’d have to have 6,570,000 people.
Even if we use the Bay News 9 Viewing area as our definition (Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Polk, Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough), we have less than 4 mil. By the census bureau’s definition we have 2.7 mil.
Also, the lines at the MacDill commissary are long enough as it is. If there were 1.8 million veterans here my ice cream would melt before I even got to the checkout line.
November 12th, 2005 at 1:15 am
I do apologize - that’s 1.8 mil statewide. Apparently my error-checking skills are right up there with my searching skills.
November 16th, 2005 at 2:22 pm
You can find out current figures for FL National Guard soldiers and airmen who’ve been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan by emailing newseditor@fl.ngb.army.mil . They’ll provide you with current figures.
June 3rd, 2006 at 11:24 am
This past Memorial Day service here in Arizona - maybe you don’t realize just what it means for some one to come up to you and shake your hand and say “THANKS”..
As an ex-vet from the Korean War with a Purple Heart award.. For me to look around and see everyone free to do as they please and speak out as they wish.. Yes, I would do it again in a heart beat for all of us.. An I want to THANK all of you (The proud ones) for sticking by us when we were over there.