Grissom celebrates MLK Day

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  • 434th ARW Public Affairs

The men and women of Grissom join today with millions of people to reflect and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the nation's civil rights heroes.

King was born on Jan. 15, 1929, was a Baptist minister by trade and later became an African American civil rights leader in the 1950s and 1960s.

He is often revered for his use of nonviolent methods to assist the advancement of civil rights and end of racial discrimination in the United States, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Unfortunately, King was assassinated in 1968. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first observed Jan. 20, 1986. Taking place each year on the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service, and it calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.

Grissom is home to many different people from various backgrounds all coming together to defend the United States as equals, thanks in large part to the efforts of King.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.

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