Active Military Personnel Will be Issued Complimentary Tickets Day of Game,

Pre-Game Celebration Includes USO Show Troupe, Enlistment Ceremony, Pledge of Allegiance

FLUSHING, N.Y., May 23, 2014 - The New York Mets in conjunction with the USO of Metropolitan New York today announced they will host their seventh annual Military Appreciation Day on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26 at Citi Field when the Mets host the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1:10 p.m. 

As for all Mets games at Citi Field, military personnel with active military identification will be issued a complimentary ticket day-of-game only, subject to availability. On May 26, qualifying personnel should proceed to any day-of-game ticket window outside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda to present identification and claim their ticket. Tickets are also on sale at Mets.com and (718) 507-TIXX.

The Mets have donated more than 3,500 tickets to the USO for military personnel and their families to enjoy the special ceremonies honoring our troops and to watch the game.

The USO Show Troupe, formerly known as the Liberty Bells, will entertain the crowd before the game as well as sing God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch. Gold Star children, who lost a parent while serving in the military, will lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance before the game.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Rear Admiral Dixon R. Smith from Green's Farms, Connecticut, will lead a joint re-enlistment and enlistment ceremony for more than 50 current and future members of the Armed Forces.

There will be a special first pitch, via satellite, from CNV 77, the USS George H. W. Bush Aircraft Carrier. Finally, a representative of each branch of the military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard - will simultaneously throw out the ceremonial first pitch. 

The Mets-Pirates game will be shown on American Forces Network, which is broadcast in 175 countries and all the ships at sea.