by Julie Pippert

 

 

On July 9, 2010 in Charleston, South Carolina, cast members from Army Wives met real life military wives at the Gibbes Museum of Art for a special Blue Star Museums event.

 

Blue Star Museums is a partnership between Blue Star Families and the National Endowment for the Arts to provide free admission to over 850 participating museums nationwide to active duty military and their families.

 

"The greatest honor I've gotten from this show in four years is the handful of times I've gotten to pay back to the military and their families. This is one of those instances where the NEA and Blue Star Families have taken that step...and we, of course, consider it a great honor," said Brian McNamara, who plays Major General Michael Holden on Army Wives.

by Julie Pippert

 

 

On July 9, 2010 in Charleston, South Carolina, cast members from Army Wives met real life military wives at the Gibbes Museum of Art for a special Blue Star Museums event.

 

Blue Star Museums is a partnership between Blue Star Families and the National Endowment for the Arts to provide free admission to over 850 participating museums nationwide to active duty military and their families.

 

"The greatest honor I've gotten from this show in four years is the handful of times I've gotten to pay back to the military and their families. This is one of those instances where the NEA and Blue Star Families have taken that step...and we, of course, consider it a great honor," said Brian McNamara, who plays Major General Michael Holden on Army Wives.

 

McNamara and fellow cast member Terry Serpico, who plays Colonel Frank Sherwood, both have their own military family connections. McNamara's brother is a retired Navy captain, and Serpico's father is a retired Army colonel. McNamara said he draws on his brother to portray his character, and his brother usually advises McNamara to pull his shoulders back and deepen his voice. Serpico's father is actually named Frank, and he said his character is greatly influenced by his father's career Army personality.

 

Serpico and McNamara met real military families at the Gibbes' Blue Star Museums tour, guided by Angela Mack, Executive Director and Chief Curator. Along with Sue Hoppin, wife of an Air Force officer, and her son Garret, and Lisa Ripa, wife of a deployed Army officer, and her children Thomas and Caroline, the group viewed some of the over 10,000 works of historical and fine art. All enjoyed learning about Charleston's history through its art, especially some of the old customs of remembrance, such as locks of hair in frames around miniature portraits and posthumous portraits.

 

Blue Star Museums run from Memorial Day through Labor Day this summer. It is an initiative designed to honor and appreciate military families, especially the nearly 1 million children who have had a deployed parent.

 

Terry Serpico thinks the program is fantastic, "It offers military families the opportunity to gain some respite from the stresses of their daily lives." Speaking from his own personal experience, he added, "These are indeed very stressful lives that these military families lead, the sacrifices that they make for all of us. The Blue Star Museums program offers them a quiet space."

 

For more information about Blue Star Museums, visit www.bluestarfam.org.