Cape Coral honors Veterans with Armed Forces Day events around the city

Armed Forces Day is held every year on the third Saturday of May as part of Armed Forces Week, which is held yearl from the second Saturday of May to the third Sunday of the month. The day was created in 1949 to honor Americans serving in the nation’s five military branches- Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guards.


See photos from Armed Forces Day events


Below are some of the events held around the city on Saturday.




Cape Coral Republicans Club honors Veterans with rally

The Cape Coral Republicans Club held the first “Honoring America Rally” at Jaycee Park Saturday.

While the club has held numerous events honoring veterans, this was their first to be held on Armed Forces Day, “We felt it was appropriate to honor those that served in the military, especially on this day,” said John Cataldi, President of the club.

The event will included a number of speakers including former Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kotkamp, State Representative Gary Aubuchon, Cape Coral Mayor John Sullivan, Cape Coral Councilman Lt. Colonel Bill Deile and Cape Coral Councilman Pete Brandt, “I am honored to be included among the veterans. They did a lot more than I did. I have always felt honored when they say veterans and I am included. It’s more than words can describe,” explained Brandt, who served in the United States Navy during peacetime.

Each speaker took the opportunity to share their own stories and the personal impact military veterans have had on their lives. As the speakers shared their stories, veterans from all branches of military sat in the crowd listening intently and reflecting on their own time serving our country. In one of the more emotional moments of the day, Deile introduced the playing of the official songs from each military branch. The crowd sang and clapped along as each was played.

The club hopes this is the beginning of a new tradition and hopes that next year’s event will be even bigger and better.

Cape Coral Firefighters Union donates to help restore Iwo Jima statue

Saturday morning Cape Coral’s 2424 Firefighters Union President Mark Muerth and Vice-president Brendan Fonack gathered with representatives from the Craig T. Fuller Foundation at the foot of the Iwo Jima statue to donate $5,000 to aid in restoration of the statue.

The statue, which has been in Cape Coral since the 1960’s has been in dire need of repairs due to years of deterioration. The foundation was established in honor of Craig T. Fuller, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. It was Fuller’s dream that the statue be restored to its previous glory. A small group of Fuller’s family and friends began working on raising funds to restore the statue shortly after his death. To date the foundation has risen close to $58,000 with Saturday’s donation. Total cost to repair the statue has been estimated to be $85,000. In December of 2010, the Cape Coral City Council agreed to make up the difference in what was raised to what it would cost to repair the statue. Workers began the restoration project in March and expect to be completed sometime this summer.

The foundation is still working to raise funds to restore the statue and Saturday’s donation was just another step to making Fuller’s dream a reality, “This donation shows the firefighters union commitment to our community and we are grateful for their service. What they did today is above and beyond and we greatly appreciate it,” said foundation member Marian Scirrotto.


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Cape Coral to celebrate Armed Forces Day with "Honoring America Rally"