Why you should be wearing red on Fridays




By Liv Stecker

In 2005, one of those email chain letters went around. You know, the kind that you get annoyed at all of your friends for sending? Well this one was a little different and something about it stuck with the ones who read it. The original email read thusly:

“The Americans who support our troops, are the silent majority. We are not ‘organized’ to reflect who we are, or to reflect what our opinions are. Many Americans, like yourself, would like to start a grassroots movement using the membership of the Special Operations Association, and Special Forces Associations, and all their friends, simply to recognize that Americans support our troops. We need to inform the local VFWs and American Legion, our local press, local TV, and continue carrying the message to the national levels as we start to get this going. Our idea of showing our solidarity and support for our troops is starting Friday, and continuing on each and every Friday, until this is over, that every RED - blooded American who supports our young men and women, WEAR SOMETHING RED.

Word of mouth, press, TV — let's see if we can make the United States, on any given Friday, a sea of RED much like a home football game at a university.


If every one of our memberships share this with other acquaintances, fellow workers, friends, and neighbors, I guarantee that it will not be long before the USA will be covered in RED - and make our troops know there are many people thinking of their well-being. You will feel better all day Friday when you wear RED!


Let's get the word out and lead by example; wear RED on Fridays.


Please forward this to everyone you know!!


Wear RED on Fridays . SUPPORT OUR TROOPS! WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE. FOR US, THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED!! GOD BLESS AMERICA.”

Apparently somebody forwarded it, because fast forward to 2018 and #REDFriday has officially become a thing. While many family members of deployed troops have been sporting red on Fridays since that fateful day in September of 2001, the public trend took a few years to gain traction. More and more people are donning crimson on Fridays in support of the deployed service members around the world and at home.


In addition to Instagram and Twitter trends steered by hashtags like #remembereveryonedeployed, most veteran owned companies now offer R.E.D. Friday t shirts, hoodies and other paraphernalia. In 2016, the Big Voice made a run of R.E.D. t shirts which you can see your friends and neighbors rocking around the area. We have a few left, in addition to our Veteran’s Day shirts, which are available online at americanfreedomfund.org or you can call me (Liv Stecker) at 509.675.3504 or email thebigvoice31@gmail.com. Remember everyone deployed and get your R.E.D. on this Friday!

“The Torch Be Yours To Hold It High”…



By Liv Stecker
It was the War To End All Wars. World War I officially came to a close on June 28, 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed, but it was seven months earlier on November 11th that a broken and defeated Germany requested the armistice that brought an end to the gruesome bloodshed that redefined the rules of warfare for all of time. It was the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 when the Allies signed an armistice with Germany in allied leader Ferdinand Foch's railway carriage in the remote Forest of Compiègne, north of Paris.  
World War I saw the rise of automatic weapons, tanks, toxic gases, and for the first time in history, warfare in the air as planes and zeppelins were deployed on missions of destruction. Terms like “Shell Shock” and “Trench warfare” came into existence, and with them, the disturbing effects of disease and ongoing trauma that they carry. Nearly 10 million soldiers died in the First World War, soldiers from the sixteen nations involved in the conflict. Civilian losses in Europe reached nearly 9 million during the widespread destruction.
In 1915, from a battlefield near Ypres, Belgium, Canadian surgeon John McCrae penned the words to “In Flanders Field,” a poem that would establish the red poppy as a symbol of veterans, living and dead, over the generations.

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae

 In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you, from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
In Flanders fields.
This coming Veteran’s Day, show your support for the veterans in our local community by purchasing a Big Voice Grunt Style Veteran’s Day t-shirt! If you’ve never worn an authentic Grunt Style t-shirt, you really have no idea what you’re missing. Incredibly soft but durable, Grunt Style is a veteran owned and operated company that takes pride in making t-shirts that you never want to take off. This special Veteran’s Day edition was designed collaboratively by the Big Voice and the vets and Grunt Style.

100% of the proceeds from these shirts will go to fund local veterans to participate in recreational outlets, including all expenses paid local guided hunts, shooting competitions, and sports team sponsorships.

Our goal at the Big Voice is to connect our local (Stevens, Ferry, Pend Oreille Counties) vets with outlets and opportunities to thank them for their service and to make sure they know that we value the sacrifice they have made. We strive to provide the tools to make transition from military service to civilian life better and more fulfilling for our former and current service members.

T-shirts are available online  now with free shipping at https://americanfreedomfund.org/product/support-our-troops-tshirt/. They come in men’s sizes small to 2XL. You can get your Veteran’s Day Grunt Style t-shirt from the Big Voice by calling us at 509-675-3504 or emailing thebigvoice31@gmail.com if you’d prefer to pick up your shirt in Colville at Country Chevrolet.