Members of U.S. Military Stand Up To Become U.S. Citizens During American Heroes Air Show

Be sure to land your entire family at the admission-free American Heroes Air Show when U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services hosts a Naturalization Ceremony for members of the military. In conjunction with Texas Military Forces and the American Veterans Traveling Tribute [ AVTT ], the American Anthem presentation is sure to be an emotionally charged ceremony as serving and retired members of the U.S. military affirm their support for and love of America by taking their formal Oath of Allegiance and become U.S. Citizens in front of AVTT’s inspiring replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

We’re proud to have as part of the American Heroes Air Show, the American Veterans Traveling Tribute’s inspiring Cost of Freedom presentation. Based out of Texas, the American Veterans Traveling Tribute is a veterans-owned project that travels the country to provide a forum for communities to HONOR - RESPECT - REMEMBER those who have sacrificed their lives for our country's freedom. The Cost of Freedom Tribute includes a September 11 tribute, a Cost of Freedom display of Gold Dog Tags (identifying each service member killed since Vietnam), and the centerpiece of the exhibit: an 80% scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall, displaying all 58,253 names of the men and women killed in the Vietnam War.

“It is a special privilege for us to provide our Vietnam Memorial Wall as the backdrop for members of the U.S. military as they recite their Oath of Allegiance”, explained Colonel Don Allen, Executive Director of AVTT and retired U.S. Army Special Forces. “We’re proud to be part of this event at the Lee County Sports Complex while we honor all Veterans and those currently serving by letting them know they will never be forgotten,” Allen added.

"This will be a memorable way to honor those serving in our military", said Bryan Smith, the event’s Volunteer Director. "We are honored the American Veterans Traveling Tribute will be with us to provide an emotional backdrop to all the heroes that will stand up and take their Oath of Allegiance.”

Event Director Smith has been working for months with the team from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [ USCIS ] on the scheduling and presentation details. “It’s been an eye-opening privilege to work with USCIS Field Office Director Brett Rinehart and his team from Tampa,” Smith noted. “The naturalization or ‘NATZ’ ceremony, as they call it, is highly aligned with the theme of the American Heroes Air Show – and it’s an especially poignant reminder to our guests that many serving our country in the military are fighting to defend citizenship benefits that they themselves don’t fully enjoy.”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts naturalization ceremonies at public locations, such as the American Heroes Air Show, to reinforce the value and meaning of the process through which the United States naturalizes citizens – many of them serving in the military. As part of the Department of Homeland Security, (DHS), USCIS naturalized 10,505 members of the military in fiscal 2009, with 1,655 of those men and women taking the Oath of Allegiance at ceremonies overseas. Since 2001 USCIS has naturalized more than 55,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines at ceremonies across the country and in 17 nations around the world.

More Than Just Another Air Show The American Heroes Air Show is admission-free at sites from coast-to-coast and dedicated to educating the public about the unique capabilities of helicopters in law enforcement, fire service, public / private EMS, homeland defense and national security. Produced by the American Heroes Aviation Network, the event also includes the CODE3 Career Fair which delivers recruiting teams from law enforcement, public safety, government service, volunteer agencies and the military who are on-scene to profile their mission and provide information on their hiring, training and application processes.

As a long tradition at American Heroes Air Shows around the country, collectible event trading cards will be available and free in limited quantities to early event arrivals. These popular trading cards feature photos of participating aircraft plus flight performance and mission profiles.

In Fort Myers, the USCIS Naturalization ceremony and the Cost of Freedom Tribute are part of the admission-free American Heroes Air Show.

Date: Saturday, January 22nd 2011 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The American Anthem Naturalization Ceremony is 11 a.m.

Location: Lee County Sports Complex 14100 Ben C. Pratt / Six Mile Cypress Parkway Fort Myers, FL. 33912

Media contacts for follow up:

Deputy Bryan Smith

Lee County Sheriff’s Office – Aviation Section

(352) 328-4248

Email: BGSMITH @ Heroes-airshow.com

More event details are available on our website: www.heroes-airshow.com

Jim Paules, Volunteer

USA Producer American Heroes Air Show Network

Cell (818) 631-8132

Email: Jim@Heroes-airshow.com