National Operation Welcome Home

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Hall Of Fame Magazine - Your Connection to Greatness
Read about National
Operation Welcome Home

Every decade has an event or celebration that seems to define the era. The 1960s had Woodstock, the ‘70s had the Bicentennial, the ‘80s had Live Aid...but the new millennium brought a host of challenges that no one had anticipated.

America is once again at war. Our sons and daughters are defending freedom in distant corners of the world. Whether you agree or disagree with the politics of the conflict, you surely agree that America should value and honor all those who step forward to protect and defend her.

Operation Welcome Home is a celebration that defines our new millennium, while healing wounds from many years past. Operation Welcome Home began in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. The Veterans Day celebration was a singular event that was intended to serve as the “welcome home” our nation’s Vietnam veterans never received. The impact was so positive and sweeping that other communities picked up the banner and began holding celebrations. Then another wildly successful national event took place in California in 2006. Now, a huge “Midwest Operation Welcome Home” is planned for the Fourth of July weekend 2008 in Auburn, IN.

The Dean V. Kruse Foundation is working with the founders of Operation Welcome Home and the American Veterans Institute to develop a spectacular celebration that will honor not only our Vietnam veterans, but ALL those who proudly protect and defend this country -- yesterday AND today.

This is a non-profit event and partnerships are tax deductible. Help us let our veterans know that their service and sacrifice WAS appreciated…and help us reassure today’s GI’s that America will never again turn its back on them!

Vital Links & Sponsors

The following links are earnest supporters of veterans and Operation Welcome Home, among many other worthwhile causes. Please give them your time, attention and gratitude:

Bob Evans

CMD Technologies, LLC

America Supports You

Robertson Aviation

MBI Publishing

Chapman Communications

Images by Santana

Tour Great Miami

Troy Daily News

National Operation Welcome
Home Founders
Tara Dixon-Engel
and
Mike Jackson

Send an e-mail to info@AmericanVeteransInstitute.org if you are interested in developing an Operation Welcome Home celebration in your own community. If you wish to donate to the on-going efforts of the National Operation Welcome Home initiative, click here. The national organizers can provide tips on raising funds for your local celebration, as well as working with local media and civic groups to promote your event.

Who founded National Operation Welcome Home?

Mike Jackson and Tara Dixon-Engel, co-authors
of Naked in Da Nang and National Chairmen of Operation Welcome Home are committed to drawing attention to the service and sacrifice of America's veterans — past, present and future.

Mike Jackson, a retired Air Force Lt. Col., served as a combat pilot in Vietnam, an instructor pilot, a squadron and group commander at the USAF Officer Training School, and as the Professor of Aerospace Studies at Wright State University. After retiring from the Air Force in 1991, he served as Executive Director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, where he successfully led the organization to national prominence. He retired in 2005, and was named Executive Director Emeritus. He was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1998 he was named the first "Miami Valley Hometown Military Hero" by the American Red Cross. He was named "Distinguished Museum Professional" of the year by the Ohio Museums Association in 2003 and was chosen by Webster University as their "Distinguished Alumnus" for 2005, based on his many contributions to society.

Tara Dixon-Engel is a former journalist and corporate marketing executive. She is the former Director of Research and Strategic Planning for the National Aviation Hall of Fame and an award-winning script writer for such powerful mini documentaries as D-Day: A Defining Moment and Vietnam: A Nation Remembers. Both documen-taries won Telly and Crystal Communicator Awards. The Vietnam video earned a Platinum Best of Show Aurora Award, as well.

At left and bottom, glimpses of the "Vietnam experience" through the camera lens of Mike Jackson, then a 1st Lieutenant flying Forward Air Control missions over the Ashau Valley and other inhospitable locales near the DMZ. Jackson went on to author Naked In Da Nang and founded the national Operation Welcome Home initiative. The retired Air Force officer is proud of his service in Southeast Asia, despite being disabled by a 1972 rocket attack in Da Nang. He owns his own company and founded The American Veterans Institute, which seeks to support veteran-related projects and preserve individual veteran histories. He is working with his co-author on a sequel to Naked In Da Nang, among many other projects.