FORT HOOD, Texas - The 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) will host an Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month celebration for Fort Hood soldiers from 1:30-2:30 p.m., May 22, in the Grande Ballroom at Club Hood.
All Fort Hood soldiers, families and civilians are invited to help celebrate the cultures from Asia and the Pacific islands.
Attendees will enjoy musical and dance performances, lei presentation and remarks from guest speaker, Dr. Thomas Klincar, chancellor of Central Texas College. Klincar, a retired Air Force colonel, has dedicated much of his life to educating Soldiers and civilians as the former dean of Academics for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization schools and former commander of the College for Enlisted Professional Military Education.
Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month began as a weeklong celebration in May of 1978. It wasn’t until 1992 that the law was signed to designate the whole month of May by President George H.W. Bush.
The month of May was chosen to mark the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States in 1843 and the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, in which the majority of the workers were Chinese immigrants.
In addition to the event at Club Hood, visit any Fort Hood dining facility Wednesday for a taste of Asian and Pacific Islander cuisine.
Media wishing to cover this event should register at http://www.forthoodpresscenter.com/go/survey/3439/11619/.
On the day of the event, media should meet public affairs in the south-side parking lot of the Fort Hood visitors center at 1 p.m.