On the recordJuly 22, 2010
Back in May, I had the privilege of visiting Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in my district for a special program put on by Sesame Street and the USO. The Sesame Street-USO experience for military families is a wonderful program aimed at helping children of servicemembers understand deployments. It also helps parents talk to their children about a parent who is coming home with a changed personality or not coming home at all. This program has spanned nine countries and 84 military bases. The Sesame Street mission is to improve the connection between parent and child during the long absence of deployment and help children understand the harsh realities of war. During my visit, I was thrilled by the enthusiasm of the Sesame Street actors and the excitement it brought to the children as well as the parents. This was a very heartwarming experience that brought hope and understanding to the very special children of our very special parents who make up our military. It is never easy to try to explain death or war to a child, but with the helpful tools this program uses, like a video using the Sesame Street characters explaining the death of a parent to a small child or a young person, the difficult issue becomes much easier to talk about. I would like to thank the USO and Sesame Street for their hard work and concern for our troops.
