UPDATE Regarding EVENTS

With thousands of like-minded followers, Patriot Connections has been dedicated to providing our veteran, military, first responder and patriot community with a comprehensive resource of events in NJ, PA and the surrounding areas for the last 10 years - including resources for veterans and first responders. Whether it's information on upcoming 5K Runs/Walks, Sporting Events, Job Fairs, Town Hall Meetings, Motorcycle Runs, Ceremonies, Dinners, Dances, Honor Missions, Welcome Homes, Golf Outings, or Resources for our Veterans, Military and 1st Responders. 

November 2021 - Over the last couple of years (including COVID), many events were cancelled/postponed and most organizations have chosen to list their events on social media platforms such as Facebook. Due to decrease in organizations listing their events directly on the Patriot Connection website, we primarily just list events on the Patriot Connections Facebook Page. Feel free to visit our Facebook Page for upcoming events and submit your events there. 

 

 

14 Dec

Volunteers Needed to Place Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery

Founded in 1864, Arlington National Cemetery is our nation’s premier military cemetery with over 400,000 gravesites spread across 624 acres. Since 1992 the non-profit organization Wreaths Across America coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as over 1,100 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea, and abroad. Thousands of volunteers are needed to help with the placement of wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery. If you would like to participate you are welcome to do so with our “Washington, DC History & Culture” non-profit community organization, or on your own as this event is open to the general public. All are welcome to volunteer, including children and community organizations. There are no tickets for this event - just show up. Pre-registration (Facebook/Eventbrite/Meetup/etc.) [...]
14 Dec

2019 Army Navy Pre-Game Tailgate At Citizens Bank Park

Beat the cold! Tailgate inside Citizens Bank Park's beautiful Hall of Fame Club. located right across the street from Lincoln Financial Field. Enjoy two hours of all-you-can-eat-and-drink Tailgate, with plenty of cheesesteaks, hot dogs, hoagies, beer, wine, soda and more. Enjoy music and face painters to get you in the spirit! GO ARMY! GO NAVY! Please enter the Philadelphia Phillies's Club and Suite entrance located on Pattison Avenue across from Lincoln Financial Field. More info/tickets https://www.facebook.com/events/518225788955908/  
14 Dec

Wreaths Across America - Find Your Local Cemetery

REMEMBER the Fallen. . . HONOR those who Serve. . . TEACH our children the value of Freedom. On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 12:00 PM, Wreaths Across America will be at various cemeteries in our area to Remember and Honor our veterans through the laying of Remembrance wreaths on the graves of our country’s fallen heroes and the act of saying the name of each and every veteran aloud. Click here to check for local cemetery locations to participate in Laying of the Wreaths.
14 Dec

Wreaths Across America - Harleigh Cemetery

REMEMBER the Fallen. . . HONOR those who Serve. . . TEACH our children the value of Freedom. Welcome to the Camden County Veteran's Cemetery Wreaths Across America Page. On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 12:00 PM, Wreaths Across America will be at Harleigh Cemetery, Camden County Veterans Cemetery to Remember and Honor our veterans through the laying of Remembrance wreaths on the graves of our country's fallen heroes and the act of saying the name of each and every veteran aloud. Please help our location lay wreaths at as many graves as possible, or by volunteering - click here. Thank you so much for supporting Harleigh Cemetery, Camden County Veterans Cemetery and Wreaths Across America
Army Navy at Manayunk Brewery

Army Navy at Manayunk Brewery

2:30 PM December 14, 2019 Not Going...But Want to See The Game Wear Your Colors Cost $5.00 Per Person ALL YOU CAN EAT DOOR PRIZES BRING YOUR FRIENDS PLEASE RSVP at edphillynavyleague@gmail.com
soldiers Christmas

soldiers Christmas

Lantern tours through history! Visit all of the historical groups as they show you how Christmas was celebrated throughout history and on the front lines!
 


PATRIOT CONNECTIONS DOG TAG PROJECT

The Patriot Connections DOG TAG PROJECT MISSION: Return dog tags that were lost and found to the veterans they belong to or their families. If you believe we may have your dog tag please contact Director of Research/Returns Sue Quinn-Morris at squinn9807@aol.com or 856-495-7270.

THE DOG TAG COLLECTIONS

SOUTH JERSEY COLLECTION – This collection of dog tags (450) journey home began in 1993 from DaNang and China Beach area in Vietnam where they were being sold in shops. Gloucester County Time Reporter Jim Six asked the then Deptford Police Chief Ray Milligan to purchase as many as he could and bring them home, as Milligan traveled back and forth to Vietnam for Operation Smile. He brought back 450 of them and gave them to Jim Six. Over the years several people/organizations worked with Jim Six on returning some of the dog tags. In 2010, he gave the rest to us to try and locate and return the rest of them. With much effort and research, we have located many, completed returns and have more returns underway throughout the United States. 

BOUGOURD COLLECTION - This collection of dog tags began their journey home after British Army/Navy veteran, Aaron Bougourd, received them from the family of Major Thien in 2006. Bougourd had been volunteering for the Father Ray Foundation Orphanage in Thialand when he met Major Thien, and helped him find his lost family in Vietnam. Thien, a South Vietnamese officer living as a refugee. Major Ly Kim Thien was commissioned as an officer of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in 1964 and served in several capacities throughout Vietnam up until the fall of Saigon in 1975. It was after this that he was sent to a communist reeducation camp, where he was tortured and forced to denounce his anti-communist beliefs. In 1994 he escaped Vietnam on foot through Cambodia and on to Thailand, which is where Aaron Bougourd met him. Thien’s family, as a token of appreciation, gave Bougourd some dog tags they had found at Ben Hoa Air Base. Aaron, a resident of the UK, reached out and sent some of the dog tags to Patriot Connections Dog Tag Project to help return them. Returns are underway. 

SANTAYANA COLLECTION - Touring the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1998, Wall Street trader Manny Santayana stumbled onto a Vietnamese man who made a living out of extracting bombs from the ground, grinding up the metal and selling it for profit. Sometime he would stumble upon dog tags from U.S. soldiers, which he would collect and store in an ammo bag under his bed. Santayana paid him $100 for 105 dog tags and brought them back home.Over the next several years, he was able to make some returns to dog tag owners, but he eventually became too busy to continue with the research. He then enlisted the help of Senator James Beach, who formed a committee for dog tag returns – Quinn-Morris has researched and facilitated returns from this collection. The collection is stored in the NJ State House.

HUTCHINGS COLLECTION - In December 2012, Jack Hutchings, a prominent businessman in Florida,  had been traveling on his yacht in the Solomon Islands. There, the villagers gave him some American WWII dog tags they had found. He brought them home in hopes of getting them returned to the veterans/families. . Upon returning home, he stumbled across a newspaper article in the Orlando-Sentinel about the dog tag return to USMC Vietnam veteran, James Alderman that we did. This prompted him to contact us in hopes that we could located and return the dog tags to the veterans/families they belong to.

MISC COLLECTIONS - From time to time we are contacted by people that have found dog tags and are looking for help in returning them. As long as they are looking to do so with NO CHARGE to the veteran, we do aide them in finding and returning.

Organizations helping with Dog Tag Project The following organizations have and continue to aid with the return of the dog tags nationwide; Nam Knights of America MC, American Legion Riders, VFW Riders, Warriors Watch Riders, Patriot Guard Riders, various American Legion Posts and VFW Posts. Returns have taken place in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, New York, Arizona, Tennessee, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Ohio, Maine, Kentucky, Washington DC, Oregon, Texas, California, Washington and Michigan.

It is essential to the Project that the dog tags are handled and delivered to the veterans and/or their families in a dignified manner.  From the moment the dog tag is handed off, to the moment it reaches the hand of the veteran, the dog tag is well cared for and attended to, to ensure that it arrives to the veteran/family safely. If you believe we may have your dog tag, or a dog tag that belongs to a family member or friend, please contact Director of Research/Returns Sue Quinn-Morris at squinn9807@aol.com or 856-495-7270.

* Over 100 dog tags have been reunited with the veterans/families they belonged to. Please bear with us as we update the dog tag return stories and dog tag lists *