'Just show up': Military Spouse Appreciation Day ceremony spotlights help on the home front

Dave Sutor, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

May 7—During this past winter, Alicia Rudnik would look outside after a storm and see that somebody had already cleared the snow from her vehicle and a sidewalk at her new home in Windber.

At the time, she did not know who did the work.

But it was a nice anonymous and time-saving favor, considering she was at home alone with two children — ages one and three, while her husband, Sean Rudnik, was serving in the Middle East, as part of the Army National Guard.

"I just actually found out last week that our neighbor who is behind us — we've only lived in our house for six months — is the one who was shoveling my back walkway and cleaning my car off every time we had snow," Rudnik said. "I had no idea who was doing it. I was just lucky enough to walk out and not have to do it myself."

Rudnik shared her story on Friday afternoon during the annual Military Spouse Appreciation Day inside 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial in downtown Johnstown.

She explained how little gestures, such as shoveling snow, can make a big difference for a military spouse who is dealing with day-to-day life without his or her partner there to help.

" 'Just show up' is the biggest thing to drive home, because we aren't going to ask for help," she said.

The event, sponsored by Veteran Community Initiatives, Wessel & Company and the American Red Cross, paid tribute to military spouses and brought attention to their needs.

"There are quite a few military spouses in our area that very often go unnoticed," Rudnik said. "Mostly because we choose to be unnoticed. We don't want attention. We don't want the fanfare because we know that this is part of our job and this is part of how we are able to support not only our husbands, our wives, but our country in the midst of it."

VCI Director Tom Caulfield explained how helping spouses can benefit military personnel, saying, "The more assured they are that things are OK in the home front that they'll be able to fight or whatever we have to do to provide our services in the best possible way."

Johnstown has held a Military Spouse Appreciation Day ceremony every year since 2009, except in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day was first proclaimed nationally in 1984.

"Throughout the history of our country, we have honored men who have been in uniform, who have won medals and who have been presented with statues," said Robert Eyer, a shareholder emeritus at Wessel & Company and Vietnam War veteran. "But what has not received much attention are the men and women behind those in uniform. On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, we honor the contributions and the sacrifices made by military spouses and their commitment and support to keep our country safe."