To The Women of South Carolina

The Heroes are coming! South Carolina is known for both its gracious hospitality and its unmatched military tradition. And September 29–October 3, 2010, we—the Women of South Carolina—will have the distinct honor of welcoming America's Greatest Heroes, the fewer-than-100 recipients of our nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor.

Sponsored by the S.C. State Guard Foundation and The Citadel, this grand event, "Beyond Valor", will be held in Charleston. We need to ensure that this will be both a meaningful and memorable experience for these great Americans as well as a magnificent learning experience for each of us, our children, and our posterity.

•  "V" is for Valor, which gave birth to our flag, and made America the greatest nation on the face of the earth.

•   "V" is for Victory, which made and keeps us all "American," and continues to preserve our homes, families, and our way of life (Ever consider the alternative?).

•   "V" is for Values, the heart and soul of who we are and strive to be. Our values are based upon trust, loyalty, faith, respect for each other, and love of country.

To God Be The Glory.

We always have with us, our symbol, on both hands, connected forever to our hearts and minds, "V."

Because we cannot all be in Charleston, September 29–October 3, 2010, a January 2010 event, South Carolina Women Honoring Valor, will welcome our forthcoming heroes, and uniquely enable us to be a part of this extraordinary event in our state's history.

Let us join in sending our warmest personal regards in the form of a Declaration of Gratitude to these fewer-than-100 immortals.

Ask your mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and associates to sign the declaration. Also, take photographs of groups to send to us for a collage of "smiling faces" to scroll across a giant screen at the convention. A copy of the declaration will be presented to each hero with a long-stemmed red rose, and, for perpetuity, the document will be presented to the MOH Museum aboard USS Yorktown, the S.C. Department of Archives and History, and The South Caroliniana Library.

Let us come together for a patriotic, historic experience honoring and greeting South Carolina's own recipients, a luncheon, January 20, 2010, at Columbia's Convention Center, where we will learn more details of Beyond Valor. Bring a car full, or lead a parade! We have tried to give this the greatest possible meaning, something money can't buy, but make it affordable for every South Carolina woman.

•   The cost of the lunch is $20.
•   A name on the Declaration is $10 (Purchase one for a friend or as a Stocking Stuffer)
•   Each photograph of a group is $10 (20 10)

If you would like to make a greater donation, corporate tables also are available, as is a marvelous book about our heroes.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Brig. Gen. Eugene F. Rogers (S.C. Military Department), a World War II-era U.S. Marine, for his leadership in the effort to bring this event to us.

Make your reservations today. We—the South Carolina Women Honoring Valor 2010—are patriotic Americans, proud of the fact that South Carolina played a key role in the birth to this nation. Our hearts, resounding in unison, beat triumphantly for love of our country ~ Let us not forget woman's greatest virtue, that is, "I'll do it if it is the last thing I do!"

Very truly,
Edie A. Purvis
Patriotic American