Kids Kick Off Inaugural Weekend

By Elizabeth Montaquila 1-19-2013

WEBN staff photo

It was a party fit for the stars and stripes. But it was really for the kids.

Tonight First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden joined forces for the Kids Inaugural Concert. Artists Usher and Katy Perry headlined the star studded event. They were there to promote Joining Forces. It is Michelle Obama’s new initiative giving support to military families.

The First Lady took to the stage to honor the kids in the packed Washington Convention Center. Their parents have been serving in the military. And some of them are being shipped out overseas tomorrow. So this was an especially emotional night.

Mrs. Obama understood that saying, “Think about how hard it is for military kids to be apart from the people they love most. How they miss their moms and dads every day and would do anything to have them back home. And that’s just a glimpse of what it means to be a military kid.”

“Joining Forcing is especially important to me” said Dr. Jill Biden, “because I know something about being a military mom…so I know how important it is for a child to have everyone’s support.”

Biden’s son Beau is Delaware’s Attorney General but he has continued to serve as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard. He was recently promoted to Major in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps as part of the 261st Signal Brigade. In 2009 Biden completed a yearlong deployment in Iraq.

The Joining Forces program provides support to the wives, husbands, and children of the military’s 2.2 million troops by providing jobs and support during these lonely and difficult times.

FirstDaughters Sasha and Malia Obama were among the children “rocking out” at the over 2 hour long concert that also featured video “shout-outs” from stars such as Jimmy Fallon and Ellen Degeneres.