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15th Annual Military Appreciation Day

FORT SILL, Okla. - Thousands of people braved the heat and headed to Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area on post. It was the 15th annual Military Appreciation Day.

The community-wide event offers live music, outdoor activities and food, a full day of family fun in the sun. The best part about it, it's free to everyone.

No shortage of activities here, 500 acres of beautiful terrain which include mountains, sandy beaches, and a lake. Co-op Coordinator for Fort Sill, Michael Chavers, says folks have several options of recreational activities to choose from while spending Military Appreciation Family Fun Day at Letra.

"We have the water slides, we have several bounces and stuff for the kids. We have canoes, paddle boats, archery range, mini golf, we have free foods," said Chavers.

Military Appreciation Day typically draws a few extra people out to Letra than its normal weekend crowds. Last year, Chavers says they had about 2,000 people attend the event. He says he expects this year will be near the same number or higher.

"That's pretty good considering, you know, we're in triple digits for the past 30 something days now, I believe we're up to about 30."

Chavers says the additional bus route recently approved by city council could attribute to those larger figures.

"LATS is a real good thing out here for Letra. We have people actually utilizing it especially our single soldiers and stuff. Our reservists deploying out here. If they want a ride out here and stuff they simply get on the bus and come," said Chavers.

That new LATS route isn't just for soldiers, its for everyone. They stop at three places. Those are the downtown transfer station, the PX on Fort Sill and Letra. The buses run three times a day. The cost for a one-way ride is a dollar-fifty for kids and three-dollars for an adult.

Like today's event, there is no charge for Letra. Chavers says offering a no cost day, which is open to the public is what Military Appreciation Day is all about.

"It's not just about our soldiers and it's not just about those family members. It's about our civilian community as well. So that kind of makes it unique. They're our family too so we like to have them out here and spend time with us and kind of let them have a day of fun. As I said before, we couldn't do what we do as a nation at war without the support of the civilian public."

The next big shin-dig at Letra is the Buffalo Burger Cookout on Saturday, September 17th. Chavers says the higher-ups cook the food for everyone.