2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, DC. The annual star-studded event features musical and dramatic performances, appearances from America’s military leaders, and salutes to the fallen and their surviving Gold Star Families.

This year, one story will spotlight a friendship that has stretched from the battlefields of SE Asia to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Actors Dennis Haysbert and Joe Mantegna will tell the story of Army veterans Pete Peterson and Brad Kennedy who met in 1965 while serving in the 11th Cavalry Division and now reunite at ‘the Wall’ to remember their friends who didn’t return from the Vietnam War.

The concert will also salute D-Day veterans on the 75th anniversary of that heroic assault, and a Gold Star Wife and Daughter whose life changed with a ‘knock on the door’ ten years ago.

To learn more about the National Memorial Day Concert and watch past performances, visit: http://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/home/

On May 27, two Gold Star Daughters will deliver keynote addresses as part of the annual Memorial Day commemoration at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Brigadier General Sharon Bannister (a medical doctor in the USAF), and her sister Rebecca Rusch (who is an accomplished athlete and adventurer) will be the featured speakers at the 1 pm ceremony on Memorial Day.

Their father, Capt. Stephen Rusch (USAF), was Missing in Action from March 1972 when his F4 Phantom was lost, until 2007 when his remains were recovered and buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

They join NFL Hall of Fame member Derrick Thomas and Patty Crawford Klunder as Gold Star ‘sons and daughters’ who have delivered Memorial Day remarks during the 37-year history of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Click this link to learn more about Brig. Gen. Bannister and her sister Rebecca, and other Memorial Day information from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial:                             

https://www.vvmf.org/2019-memorial-day    

Download a Copy:
John McCain Letters to SDIT 2000 and 2010

At Father’s Day 1993, famed Armed Forces Vietnam Network radio deejay Adrian Cronhauer asks, “Can you say ‘Good Morning, Vietnam!’ in sign language?”