FFRF took out a Veterans Day ad with USA Today that honors those who have served, especially freethinkers. About a quarter of FFRF’s members are veterans or in the military.
The ad was in a special edition of USA Today distributed on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, with an initial print run of 800,000. It was sent out for free to the Pentagon, the U.S. Congress, the Army, Navy and Air Force headquarters, 250 military bases nationwide, key VA officials and a number of veterans organizations. Additionally, 1 million military personnel received a digital copy.
The ad appeals to the almost one-fourth of veterans who are nonbelievers. “You’ve been fighting for our secular Constitution and our freedom — let us fight for you,” the ad says. It features a photo of World War II veteran and FFRF Board Member Joe Cunningham in front of the “Atheists in Foxholes” monument at FFRF’s office building, Freethought Hall, in downtown Madison, Wis. The monument, which was dedicated last year during a grand opening celebration for the renovated Freethought Hall, is in honor of “ATHEISTS IN FOXHOLES and the countless freethinkers who have served this country with honor and distinction. Presented with hope that in the future humankind may learn to avoid all war.”
“Contrary to that tired, untrue cliché, there are indeed many ‘atheists in foxholes,’ and we’re reaching out to them,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
