Ft. Concho Celebrates Armed Forces Day Saturday

SAN ANGELO – Fort Concho will hold its annual Armed Forces Day celebration on Saturday, May 20, with a special program from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the site’s Parade Ground and the Barracks 1 Visitor Center porch at 630 South Oakes.

Hourly artillery salutes will also be fired during this time frame. The event is free to the public.

According to the USO, Armed Forces Day was created on August 31, 1949, by then-Secretary of Defense, Louis Johnson, to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The event stemmed from the Armed Forces’ unification under one Department of Defense by then-President Harry S. Truman when he signed the National Security Act into law on July 26, 1947.

Armed Forces Day is the proper day to honor all of the men and women currently serving, as well as those who have served and sacrificed to defend our freedom. 

The site’s display and exhibit buildings will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In honor of the day and our armed forces, any active-duty member and all family members may enjoy the fort at no charge. The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts will be open during the same hours in its temporary location at the Quartermaster building.

Members of the fort’s living history program will have a display of items on the porch of Barracks 1 as part of Armed Forces Day.

For more information, contact Fort Concho at 325-481-2646 or check the fort’s website at fortconcho.com.