This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Month of the Military Child
In 1986, Caspar Weinberger, President Ronald Reagan’s defense secretary, designated April as the Month of the Military Child, emphasizing the role children play in the military community. The Exchange celebrates this month annually with military child-centered events at PXs and BXs worldwide.
Long before 1986, the Exchange served America’s youngest heroes, sometimes in unusual ways, such as shipping a 23-horse merry-go-round, complete with calliope music, to Harmon Air Force Base in Newfoundland after a colonel requested it for children on the base.
In fact, according to Exchange Post archives, the Philippines Area Exchange (PHAX) celebrated Month of the Military Child in 1984, before it was made official. PHAX presented free pony rides at the main store and carabao cart rides at the Four Seasons, followed by a fashion show.
In 2018, the Exchange began offering iron-on collectible military brat patches to honor Warfighters’ children’s service and fearless spirit. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Month of the Military Child celebrations moved online, but resourceful stores still found ways to honor the children with drive-through Purple Up celebrations and curbside salutes to military children.
According to the Department of War, there are more than 1.6 million military children who face challenges but also have unique experiences because of their parents’ service. On average, military children move once every two to three years, enrolling in new schools and making new friends while departing from old ones.
Month of the Military Child concludes with National Military Brats Day on April 30. Famous military brats include LeVar Burton (who wrote about his experiences growing up military in this 2015 blog post); actor Bruce Willis, was born on an Army post in Idar-Oberstein, Germany; singer Christina Aguilera, whose father was in the Army; actor Mark Hamill; and more.
A couple of famous military brats have Exchange stories.
Actress Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Elvis Presley’s ex-wife, was the daughter of an Air Force captain who bought her Elvis’ debut album at the Wiesbaden Exchange when she was 11. She later wrote that he said, “I don’t know what this Elvis guy is all about […] but he must be something special. I stood in line with half the armed forces at the PX to get this for you; everybody wants it.”
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal’s stepfather was an Army sergeant. During a 2022 episode of the Exchange’s “Chief Chat” series, Shaq talked about growing up in a military family, how that influenced his basketball career—and how he was an “AAFES Kid” who grew up with the Exchange. (Just last week, Shaq paid a visit to Exchange headquarters in Dallas.)
For a longer list of famous military brats, go here.
The term “military brat,” by the way, may be rooted in a British acronym that’s more than 100 years old. According to Veteran.com, “Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael M. Dunn wrote a blog post in 2011 making note of a book from 1921 attributing the origins of the term at least in part due to a British military acronym that stood for ‘British Regiment Attached Traveler”(BRAT) … The story goes that eventually ‘BRAT’ became synonymous with military children.”
Sources: Exchange Post archives, Department of War, Department of Defense Education Activity, Veteran.com, American Overseas Schools Historical Society, Yahoo! Entertainment
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