SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
Lt. Gen. John R. Evans Jr., U.S. Army North (Fifth Army) commanding general, hosted the Army Day at the Alamo as part of 2023 Fiesta San Antonio on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.
“It was Soldiers; men who had served in our Army, who were the sons of fathers who had served in the American Revolution, who fought at the Battle of 1812, many of whom had worked with our then president, Andrew Jackson; and so there is a very, very close tie to the Army and the Alamo,” Evans said. “Every time I’m here and I walk these sacred grounds, I’m struck by what it must have been like to be here during those dreadful days.”
Following Evans’ remarks, guests at the event were able to talk to and take photos with Soldiers, see demonstrations and performances showcasing military service and the Army’s history. Some highlights of the program included "Fort Sam’s Own" 323d Army Band, the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and the U.S. Army Drill Team.
“Those Soldiers [who fought at the Alamo] represent the greater collective good of who we are as a people and your Army continues to do that today,” Evans said. “In the Army we say, ‘Come join us. Be all you can be.’ And that’s more than just a tagline. It’s a promise that if you take a chance to make yourself better, to invest yourself in our national defense, to wear the cloth of this nation, you can become whatever you want to become in the world. That’s our job. That’s our sacred responsibility.”
John Meyer, President of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission; Steven Rosenauer, Executive Director of the San Antonio Fiesta Commission; Larry Kurth, El Rey Feo 74; Jazzlyn Grace Ramirez, Ms. Fiesta San Antonio; and the Joint Base San Antonio Military Ambassadors were among some of the Fiesta dignitaries in attendance at the event.
U.S. Army North honors the long-standing partnership between the U.S. military and San Antonio in annual Fiesta events, which commemorate Texas’ independence after the Battle of San Jacinto and the Alamo.