Military Officers Association of America
Southwest Illinois Chapter

Home

Click on this link to visit Our Community Salutes.

Southwest Chapter Promotes Our Community Salutes Event

By Col (ret) Bob Norman, Southwest Illinois MOAA Chapter President

Taking MOAA's recommendation of community involvement and support, Southwest Chapter has taken the lead in planning and executing an annual event to recognize graduating high school seniors from O'Fallon Township High School, First Baptist Academy, and homeschoolers in O'Fallon and Shiloh who choose to enlist in the Armed Forces of the United States, whether active duty, National Guard, or Reserve. Several other ceremonies have taken place in other states since 2009. This will be the second ceremony of its kind in Illinois. (Last year's event was the first.)

This cohort of young people who choose to enlist do occasionally get recognized in large settings such as high school awards programs and at Busch Stadium, but this specific event will be all about marshalling the community to honor and support the choice of these young people to serve the nation. As this is the first year of many, the event needs to be manageable and meaningful for the recruits and the community. We started with a focus on O'Fallon and Shiloh and are growing to include other area high schools.

To make this a memorable event, we are partnering with the O'Fallon Chamber of Commerce, and already have commitments from the JROTC unit at the O'Fallon Township High School (OTHS) and O'Fallon VFW Post 805, and recruiters of several Services. There are also people from Scott AFB who are committed to making a memorable and meaningful event for the recruits, their families and friends, and the community.

There is still lots of work to be done before the event at the First Baptist Church O'Fallon Auditorium on 30 April 2026 at 6 pm, so anyone who would like to help out with the planning and arrangements is welcome to join. You can throw in your support by e‐mailing the chapter at moaa.swil@gmail.com, with the SUBJECT line: "Our Community Salutes.".

Thank you for YOUR service! Now let's recognize the young men and women who will join the 1% of those who serve the nation! God bless you!

Last Year's Event

Last year's OCS event, the very first event held in Illinois, our Chapter led an effort culminating on May 1st that recognized 45 young men and women who are raising their hands voluntarily to become the next generation of veterans who serve in this nation’s military. All the recruiters in attendance, from the USMC, Army, Air Force, and Navy hailed this ceremony for acknowledging and thanking those young men and women who volunteered to support and defend the Constitution.

The picture above shows the local recruiters of the USMC and the recruits honored at this ceremony.