By Frank Keenan, Communications Committee, Saluting Branches
Whatever task assigned to our Veterans, whether across the country or across the world, they went and they served. They left their homes. They left their jobs. They left their families. Many times, at great peril. These men and women took on the fears, the risks, and the challenges of their times. They gave everything they had to give. Some of them were lost in battle and never came home. Others are resting in cemeteries such as this one today. Through Saluting Branches, we embrace this chance to give back in a small, but very special way, to demonstrate our gratitude and appreciation for all that they and their families had to endure.
If you’ve ever volunteered for Saluting Branches’ National Day of Service, you’ll likely recognize the words printed above. They come from the Saluting Branches proclamation—a heartfelt statement that captures the essence of Saluting Branches’ mission, which is to honor American service men and women by organizing volunteer tree and landscape care for the property dedicated to our veterans. Since 2015, the proclamation has been read on the Day of Service each year at every volunteer site—nearly 100 of them in 2024.
While no two sites are the same and each service day offers its own unique experience, they all start the same way, with the reading of the proclamation. It sets the tone, offering an important reminder of what brought us to the service site that morning, and who we are remembering and honoring through our actions on that day. The reading of the proclamation comes and goes in just a few minutes, but the spirit of its message lays the foundation for the entire day.
The proclamation was created by Steve Thompson, who was part of the original team at Rainbow Treecare that worked with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its National Cemetery Association (NCA) to bring Saluting Branches to life. Coming from a family of service members, Thompson holds a deep understanding of the dedication, commitment, and selflessness of our service men and women. “My father was in the Navy, serving stretches in both World War II and the Korean War,” Thompson explained. “And my brothers and I all followed in his footsteps.” Thompson served in the U.S. Navy, and his 5 brothers all served in the U.S. armed forces as well: Dan (Army), Chris (Marine Corps), Joe (Naval Academy), Pat (Air Force), Matt (Air Force).
In addition to dedication, commitment, and selflessness, service also requires sacrifice, and Thompson has experienced that up close. While serving a 5-year hitch in the Navy, he received word that his brother Dan, who was fighting in the Vietnam War, had been seriously injured by a land mine explosion. Around that same time, their father unexpectedly died of a stroke. With these two tragic events happening so close to one another, Thompson received a hardship discharge so he could return home and help his mother care for his injured brother and the rest of the family. It was a difficult time for the Thompsons, and unfortunately, it is a relatable experience for many service families.
Now retired, Thompson had a diverse and fulfilling post-military career, enjoying roles ranging from teacher (and coach) to 25 years in the agriculture industry, before finding a home with Rainbow Treecare. Even as he became further and further removed from his service time, Thompson’s passion and support for our service members and veterans never diminished. The outsize role U.S. military service had on his family is what drove Thompson to be so heavily involved in the forming of Saluting Branches, and it’s what inspired the genuine and moving words that form the proclamation.
When he sat down to write the proclamation, Thompson reflected on the history of the major wars, his father’s stories from the USS Wisconsin, and the great loss and sacrifice of so many service members and their families. “I wrote it with feeling,” Thompson recalled. “I thought of my own family’s experiences, but also of the families putting flowers on the graves of those lost in battle.” Having written the proclamation, it was only fitting that Thompson was also the one to deliver the proclamation at the very first Saluting Branches Day of Service in 2015 at Historic Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
Last September, everything came full circle when Thompson once again kicked off the Day of Service at Fort Snelling by reading the proclamation. Only this time, thanks to the hard work of Thompson and countless others over the past ten years, Saluting Branches was celebrating a Decade of Dedication, and the proclamation was also being read at nearly 100 veteran-dedicated properties across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
While Thompson is proud of his involvement with Saluting Branches and what the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization has accomplished over the past decade, he’s even more excited about Saluting Branches’ future. He’s looking forward to seeing how it grows with a new generation of volunteers getting involved. Thompson even sees an opportunity for the proclamation to evolve and change over time. “This is what we’ve been saying, but I’m open to what works with the up-and-coming generation,” Thompson shared. “How can we improve it to better inspire the next decade of Saluting Branches volunteers?”
