More than 1,000 military veterans and members of their immediate families will be saluted at Welcome Home, an Armed Forces Day celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at Morgan’s Wonderland.
“We look forward to welcoming those who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn,” said Marie Weldon, director of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS), “however any veteran of the U. S. armed forces is invited to participate.”
For the third consecutive year, STVHCS and Morgan’s Wonderland, the world’s first theme park designed with special-needs individuals in mind and built for everyone’s enjoyment, will team up to offer returning veterans a day of fun at the park plus special musical entertainment, food, games and prizes.
In addition to the family fun, veterans will have access to an information fair in the Morgan’s Wonderland Event Center on a wide variety of services available to them. The 11 o’clock opening ceremonies will include remarks by Dr. Julianne Flynn, STVHCS chief of staff.
Many returning veterans with physical disabilities are taking advantage of STRAPS (South Texas Regional Adaptive and Paralympic Sports) at Morgan’s Wonderland.
Thanks to support from the San Antonio Scorpions pro soccer team and generous gifts from aerospace titan The Boeing Co., and Warm Springs, a leading provider of comprehensive rehabilitation services, STRAPS offers physically challenged athletes competition in sports such as wheelchair soccer, powerchair soccer, goalball (a sport similar to soccer for visually impaired athletes), wheelchair basketball and wheelchair softball.
For more information about Welcome Home, visit www.southtexas.va.gov. Additional information can be found at www.MorgansWonderland.com and www.STRAPSsoccer.com.
Completely wheelchair-accessible, Morgan’s Wonderland is located at 5223 David Edwards Drive at the intersection of Wurzbach Parkway and Thousand Oaks Drive just west of IH 35 in Northeast San Antonio.