Gary Sinise to Host PBS’ 35th Annual Memorial Day Concert
By Movieguide® Contributor
PBS has announced the line-up for its 35th annual National Memorial Day Concert.
The program will be recorded live from the U.S. Capitol and will include several veterans and performances from the nation’s top entertainers.
Per PEOPLE, “A dynamic roster of performers will be featured, including celebrated actress/vocalist Cynthia Erivo, Rascal Flatts lead singer Gary LeVox, country singer-songwriter and Marine Corps Reserve veteran Jamey Johnson, plus film and television stars Bryan Cranston, Jena Malone, BD Wong and Mary McCormack. Broadway performers Ruthie Ann Miles and Patina Miller will be featured too, alongside the National Symphony Orchestra.”
The show will be hosted by veteran advocates Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna.
The broadcast will feature World War II U.S. Army Veteran John T. “Jack” Moran. His unit was “dropped directly into the Battle of the Bulge, [and] his company’s objective was to contain the bulge at Bastogne, the road junction the Germans needed to break through the American line. After hours of advancing in the woods, Moran’s company became trapped in foxholes behind enemy lines for six days in fighting so intense, it was miraculous they made it out alive.”
U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Kirstie Ennis will also share her story. In Afghanistan, her “aircraft crashed during combat operations.”
“Critically injured, she sustained severe damage to her left leg, full facial trauma, a shattered jaw, critical injuries to her spine and both shoulders and a traumatic brain injury. Her leg had to be amputated first below, then later above the knee after a life threatening infection,” PBS reported.
Lastly, U.S. Army Veteran Allen Hoe will explain how the “culture of duty and service influenced Hoe to become a combat medic after the Army drafted him at 19 and to ask to serve in Vietnam. During his service, he received a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart and a Combat Medic Badge.”
The broadcast will air on May 26 at 8:00 P.M. ET.
Movieguide® previously reported on the 33rd Annual National Memorial Day Concert:
After three decades, the PBS National Memorial Day concert has become a staple on Memorial Day weekend to honor the men and women who died in our country.
This year, the 33rd annual concert will return for a live event from Washington D.C. with hosts Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise.
The event will also feature “all-star musical performances and tributes,” a recent press release reads.
To watch the 90-minute broadcast, tune in to PBS or stream it on YouTube this Sunday, May 29, 2022, at 800 p.m. E.T.
The press release reads: “A more than three decades long tradition unlike anything else on television, this deeply moving and reverential night takes us back to the real meaning of the holiday through personal stories interwoven with musical performances by top stars with the National Symphony Orchestra.”