HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — This summer’s Blue Star Museums Program will kick off on Saturday and run until Labor Day.
On Tuesday, families gathered at the Hill Aerospace Museum to celebrate the program.
Active military members and their families will get free admission to museums across the country, including 37 in Utah.
The Smith family was one of the families in attendance on Tuesday. This Blue Star family of six has only been in Utah for nine months.
“Going on 20 years now of active-duty service. We’ve been stationed at 10 different locations now, in four different countries,” U.S. Air Force member Abraham Smith said.
Military families move pretty often, but through the years, the Smiths have learned a thing or two.
“It’s kind of difficult because you have to make new friends everywhere you go, but there’s also the fun of that because you get to have new friends and learn about them,” said Abraham’s son, Hyrum.
Now, they have a new community they can lean on. Mary Anne Carter, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, said she’s grateful to be a part of that community.
“Military kids are resilient. They have to be. I guess growing up as a military kid, moving literally almost every year, well into my teen years, it’s hard, it’s a struggle,” Carter said. “So, to see them all here today with their moms and dads, with the happiness on their face, it’s a blessing, and I’m happy we can be a part of sharing it.”
Another speaker at the event was Col. Daniel Cornelius, the commander of the 75th Air Base Wing at Hill Air Force Base. He shared some stories of people who were currently deployed. He said these programs are important for the families in this community.
“Just another anecdote,” Cornelius said. "We have a member of our logistics quadrant here. It was passed back to us that in their brief deployment of about three months, they’ve had to run to a bunker because of an alarm for an incoming missile 150 times in those three months.”
The event showcased the large military community in Utah.
“It’s really nice too that they take the time to do things like this," Abraham Smith's wife Laura said. "We love anytime people give us a break. In a sense that, making Blue Star families, we can go to the museums. We don’t have to worry about coming up with the funds for it. Moving takes a lot of money."
