{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","contentId":"00000188-6dde-d9a9-a5fa-fddf818a0002","url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/4-ways-amazon-honored-fallen-service-members-this-memorial-day","headline":"4 ways Amazon honored fallen service members this Memorial Day","description":"Amazon joined forces with the Gary Sinise Foundation, wear blue: run to remember, and other organizations this Memorial Day.","datePublished":"2023-05-30T21:49:21.069Z","dateModified":"2023-05-30T21:49:21.069Z","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amazon Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/08549ff/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1125x1125+438+0/resize/84x84!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F47%2F6d%2F7fe296e642859c7ba2a629eda3ba%2Famazon-logo-hero-images-2024.jpg","width":"84","height":"84"}}],"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/3b8a5ab/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+156+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Fd7%2F1f%2Fa8d29ce446b7b60e1b84b49d0ae3%2Fhero-0002-photos-in-row.jpg","width":"300","height":"200"},"articleBody":"![A loved one pays homage to a tribute poster for a fallen service member. ](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/3b8a5ab/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+156+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Fd7%2F1f%2Fa8d29ce446b7b60e1b84b49d0ae3%2Fhero-0002-photos-in-row.jpg)\n\n# 4 ways Amazon honored fallen service members this Memorial Day\n\n*Amazon joined forces with the Gary Sinise Foundation, wear blue: run to remember, and other organizations this Memorial Day.*\n\nEvery year on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day honors the fallen heroes of the U.S. Armed Forces. To pay homage to service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we are committed to supporting and contributing to the well-being of the military community each day.\n\nAs we continue to improve the lives of veterans and their families, we’re proud to partner with military organizations to create a lasting impact in the lives of veterans and those who have lost loved ones in service to the nation.\n\nHere are some of the ways we supported veterans, military families, and the military community across the U.S. on Memorial Day.\n\nSince 2021, we have worked with [wear blue: run to remember](https://www.wearblueruntoremember.org/), which honors the service and sacrifice of the U.S. military through active remembrance. We are the presenting sponsor of the organization’s [Gold Star Youth Mentorship Program](https://www.wearblueruntoremember.org/gold-star-youth-overview) and an active participant in their annual runs to honor fallen service members.\n\nThis year, Amazon sponsored an event on May 25 in Washington, D.C., with the White House to honor all of the Gold Star families supported by the organization. The event included a Circle of Remembrance featuring the images of fallen service members, followed by a self-paced walk/run and a donation of organic goods from Amazon Fresh to all participants.\n\n![wear blue: run to remember led a Circle of Remembrance where volunteers, families, and veterans were surrounded by tribute posters featuring the images of our fallen heroes.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/6be1c21/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Fa1%2F20%2F17c95ae14460b69a2e385fb809f6%2Finline-0005-people-on-lawn.jpg)\nwear blue: run to remember led a Circle of Remembrance where volunteers, families, and veterans were surrounded by tribute posters featuring the images of our fallen heroes.\n\n![Attendees and volunteers completing a self-paced walk/run around the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/ab0c93f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F2d%2Fbc%2F82ac7d934119b9f03fb126f52981%2Finline-0004-walking-by-photos.jpg)\nAttendees and volunteers completed a self-paced walk/run around the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.\n\nOn Memorial Day, Amazon employees supported Gold Star children from the program in DuPont, Washington. The children completed a 5k run alongside their mentors, with flags representing their fallen parents.\n\n![Amazon volunteers joined Gold Star children for a 5k run to honor their fallen parents in DuPont, Washington. ](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/68ecfa3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F36%2F43%2F2b710b404e19a6b9bf864d349f1e%2Finline-0009-race-start.jpg)\n*Amazon volunteers joined Gold Star children for a 5k run to honor their fallen parents in DuPont, Washington.*\n\nThrough a partnership with the [Gary Sinise Foundation](https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/blog/2023-05-02-amazon-and-gary-sinise-foundation-multi-year-partnership), a veteran’s service organization, we are the presenting sponsor for their [Snowball Express Program](https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/snowball-express), which is dedicated to serving military families of fallen heroes through annual programming and support.\n\nWe volunteered at multiple events leading up to and on Memorial Day, including the organization’s [Invincible Spirit Festival](https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/invincible-spirit-festivals) on Fort Belvoir, where celebrity chef Robert Irvine provided food for attendees, and Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band performed to support wounded service members and medical caretakers. Amazon also supported families as they visited the Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and other sites and events around Washington, D.C., including the National Memorial Day Parade.\n\n![Amazon employees and Gary Sinise Foundation volunteers, Mike Waterman (Site Leader of MDT2), Zach Richardson (Assistant General Manager, CAE1), Charlotte La Belle (Principal, Global Military Affairs), and Donnie Hotchkiss (Sr. Operations Manager, CVG9) inside of the Arlington national Cemetery [Left to Right].](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/cd8a1d4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Fad%2F24%2F29ae0e9145b6a8915a7cdf065139%2Finline-0007-people-and-soldier.jpg)\nAmazon employees and Gary Sinise Foundation volunteers [left to right], Mike Waterman (site leader of MDT2), Zach Richardson (assistant general manager, CAE1), Charlotte La Belle (principal, Global Military Affairs), and Donnie Hotchkiss (senior operations manager, CVG9) inside of the Arlington National Cemetery.\n\n![A military family honors their lost loved one at the Arlington National Cemetery. ](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/7daf4da/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F46%2Fc1%2F6e72f1f34816bdf9e209d26eeed1%2Finline-0001-cemetery.jpg)\nA military family honors their lost loved one at the Arlington National Cemetery.\n\n![Amazon veterans and military spouses volunteer at the Invincible Spirit Festival on Fort Belvoir in northern Virginia. ](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/0e41683/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F0a%2F69%2F0270ebb54a66bb1ce16b56aee8e1%2Finline-0006-serving-food.jpg)\nAmazon veterans and military spouses volunteer at the Invincible Spirit Festival on Fort Belvoir in northern Virginia.\n\nWe worked with [Vetoga Nation](https://www.vetoganation.com/), a nonprofit organization that helps veterans release trauma through yoga and meditation after serving, to sponsor their Mental Health Yoga Challenge, which raised awareness to mental health in the military community through a 14-day yoga challenge leading up to Memorial Day. People within the military community embarked on this challenge all over the country, which consisted of daily exercises and activities for them to use in their everyday routines, each lasting 5 to 15 minutes. Each day of the challenge included one or more of the following: yoga, meditation, journaling, breathing techniques, and mental health resources.\n\n![A photo of Alioune Thiam, senior systems engineer at AWS standing next to his father.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/bbe5efb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1620x1080+150+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Fcf%2Feb%2F495a3a014e97b6e51a43ae08b461%2Fhero-v-2.jpg)\n\n- [AWS enabled me to build a solar-powered water pump to support education access in my hometown in Senegal. Here’s how I’ll continue the work this year.](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/aws-enabled-me-to-build-a-solar-powered-water-pump-to-support-education-access-in-my-hometown-in-senegal-heres-how-ill-continue-the-work-this-year)\n\nJoe Merritt is a veteran, artist, and co-founder of [Community Building Artworks](https://cbaw.org/), which connects veterans, health care providers, and civilians through workshops led by professional artists. On May 24, Merritt held a virtual workshop sponsored by Amazon on creative expression for veterans and civilians through combining two mediums: art and poetry. The event began with a writing exercise to demonstrate the ways visual art can convey moods and stories from poetry for over 100 attendees.\n\n![A photo of Norbie Lara, Assistant Site Leader, standing in front of a Fulfillment Center in Fresno, California. ](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/c266ae4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1115x743+103+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Fb3%2Ff8%2F59ce749d48e7b916289e24b892cb%2Fnorbie-2-promo.jpg)\n\n- [An Army veteran wounded in Iraq shares how working at Amazon gave him purpose](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/an-army-veteran-wounded-in-iraq-shares-how-working-at-amazon-gave-him-purpose)","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"About Amazon","url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com","sameAs":["https://x.com/amazonnews","https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon","https://www.instagram.com/amazonnews"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://assets.aboutamazon.com/bd/8f/88e7b0314cc2bd05b9de3155a0fe/amazon-news.svg"},"parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Amazon","url":"https://www.amazon.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3884","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)","https://x.com/Amazon"]}}}