Honoring the military

Because several military installations are in and around San Diego, including Navy ports, Marine Corps bases and Coast Guard stations, Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres honor America's armed forces each year by wearing camouflage jerseys and caps for Sunday games and on all military-related holidays and observances.

The Woodbridge High School baseball team, another program with military ties, will don camo tops and hats this week as part of an Armed Forces Week celebration.

"Living in an area -- and especially this high school -- which has a lot of military parents, [Woodbridge parent Eric Tatum] asked what could we do as far as honoring or giving back to the military," Vikings' baseball coach Jason Ritenour said. "We looked at the cal-endar and Armed Forces Day falls in May [on the 16th] and we said 'Why don't we turn it into Armed Forces Week?'"

Woodbridge will wear the jerseys for all games this week, including today's contest against visiting Forest Park, which begins at 6 p.m., and Friday's 6 p.m. game at Gar-Field.

"The coaches and myself were sitting around last season and wanted to honor military men and women," said Tatum, father of Vikings second baseman Kevin Tatum and Woodbridge alum Kyle Tatum, who's now enrolled at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"Coach Ritenour thought that would be cool, and it started out with just hats," Tatum said. "We decided if we could find something that matched, we could wear both. Coach Ritenour spearheaded that."

It was then up to Tatum, who works closely with Fort Belvoir through his job with Dominion Power, to find an outfitter to create the uniforms.

"I went out looking, and it was a long process," Tatum said. "I found a vendor in Iowa who could do shirts and hats to match. That started back in February. [The hats and jerseys] came in last Friday."

The jerseys are camouflage T-shirts with the school's name splashed across the front in Viking gold lettering and numbers on the back. The hats feature the Woodbridge "'W" on a matching camo background.

While perhaps not the same as what the Padres wear, the team is happy with how they can show their appreciation for the armed forces.

"We got it approved through the Virginia High School League," Ritenour said. "They said it was fine. We wanted to make sure that was OK."

With several players on the team with military ties, Ritenour said it's important to recognize those who put their lives on the line in defense of the nation.

"I work on a military installation every day," Tatum added, "and these men and women serve us every day. They're really appreciative, especially in this community in Lake Ridge."

In addition to the new jerseys, Woodbridge will have the colors presented by the school's Junior ROTC color guard before today's game, and retired Navy captain and current Woodbridge science teacher John Paulson will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

"The kids really love him, and everyone is excited about him throwing out the first pitch," Tatum said. He added that Prince William County Supervisor Mike May, who repre-sents Lake Ridge, was invited to attend today's game.

"It took off from just baseball to involving the whole school," Tatum said. "A little idea ballooned into something pretty good."

Staff writer Joe Conroy may be reached at 703-530-3912.