Anyone walking inside Fort Belvoir's Wallace Theater a week ago Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. would definitely have wished they had been issued military earplugs. There was a sound tsunami underway.

Nearly 900 children and their parents were screaming with delight, swinging battery powered lights that formed visual multi-colored circles in the air, clapping their hands in unison, and singing along with their idols -- the legendary Muppets of Sesame Street.

For one brief hour, within the walls of that theater there were no Iraq or Afghanistan wars. No moms and dads in harm's way in a far off land. No missed holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, school plays, athletic events or even the less happy moments such as illness and injury that comprise everyday family life.

Inside Wallace Theater there was the sacrosanct world of childhood under the stewardship of the most successful children's show, and its characters, ever created. There was Elmo and his buddies, right in front of them, bigger than life, on a decorated stage, singing and dancing their songs, and performing the antics that personify happiness wrapped around a life-learning process.

Billed as "The Sesame Street Experience for Military Families," Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, and the United Services Organization, USO, have partnered for the first time to bring Elmo and the gang to 43 military installations across the country. The show tour began on July 8 at the U.S.Marine Corps Base 29 Palms in Palms, CA, and will end November 2 at Fort Scott in llinois.

"The purpose of this tour is to help the kids of military families and their parents deal with the emotional stress that comes with a parent being deployed to a war zone," said Glen Taylor, assistant tour manager, VEE Corporation, producers of the Sesame Workshop Tour, "Talk,Listen,Connect."

The 60 minute show was produced twice October 14 at Fort Belvoir -- once in the morning and again that evening. It was open and free to not only military families stationed at Fort Belvoir but also to military families throughout the area.

Nine hundred tickets were given out for each show. And, as each

child entered the theater they were presented with a free swinging Elmo light which they put to good use.

"This is the first time the USO has done a tour specifically for kids. When we heard they were thinking about this we immediately jumped on it because we knew it would be a great experience and something we had to do. The emotions from both the children and the adults have been overwhelming at times," Taylor said.

"We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to present this program on our installation. We have a diverse community served by the installation and this is a great opportunity for the Belvoir community to reach out to the families of service members who make so many sacrifices for the rest of us," said Don Dees, Ft. Belvoir public information officer.

"This tour has been such a success, we are definitely planning to do it again next year. And, we hope to be able to take it to our military bases worldwide. It's a creative new way to deliver morale-boosting services and programs to our troops and their families," said Sloan Gibson, USO.

Following the show there was a large group photo with the Muppets. Prior to the show official photos of the audience, spinning their Elmo lights, were taken and made available afterward so that they could be sent to deployed family members and friends around the globe.

"Talk, Listen, Connect" is a bi-lingual, multimedia initiative providing support for and offering resources to military families with young children, ages two to five, who are experiencing the effects of deployment, multiple deployments, and when a parent returns home changed due to a combat related injuries.

"The Sesame Street Experience for Military Families" brings "Talk,Listen, Connect" DVD and materials to life, and reaches out directly to the families who face the challenges of military life each day," said Gary E. Knell, president and CEO, Sesame Workshop.

"Our partnership with the USO further extends this initiative. Our visits to military bases across the nation help those families bond through emotionally difficult times, by providing an educational and entertaining show and outreach activities they can share," Knell said.

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that changed television with its legendary Sesame Street production that make learning fun for children. The USO has provided morale, welfare and recreational services to U.S. military personnel and their families at home and abroad since World War II. As a

nonprofit charitable organization it relies on the generosity of the American people for financial support.

The event was probably best summed up by five year old Kathy Good, twirling her swinging Elmo light. "I love Elmo," she said. Out of the mouths of babes.