Charlie
Daniels,
Chris Young
and
Darryl Worley helped raise money and awareness Tuesday
night (Sept. 20) during Charlie's 'Have You Forgotten,'
event, a commemorative Stars for Stripes benefit in
remembrance of Sept. 11. During the emotion-filled event,
two families were honored and the singers performed for a
sold-out crowd who gathered at the Palm restaurant in
Nashville to honor the men and women who serve in the
military.
Charlie and his wife Hazel hosted the event. "We have done
this every year, and I want to express my gratitude for the
people who come out to support us," Charlie told The Boot.
"I have seen the fruit of the labors [when performing for
the military overseas]. I have been to some of the most
desolate spots in the world to perform for our troops and
I'm happy to help raise money to take entertainers to our
men and women in the military."
The singer, whose latest single is 'Let 'em Win or Bring 'em
Home,' recalled an incident that touched his heart on his
first trip to Baghdad during one of the Stars for Stripes
tours. "I was in the tent before the concert and this guy
walked in who looked like Rambo on steroids. He looked like
the kind of guy you would want to stand between us and the
enemy. He was just standing there looking at me, and all of
a sudden he just started crying. I don't know how long it
had been since he had cried, but something touched him when
he saw us getting ready to perform. I never saw him again,
but I've never forgotten him."
Chris has a sister who is a Marine, but the singer says he
has been overseas more than she has. "About the first time I
was making my first trip to perform, she was entering the
Marine Corps," he says of his sister, who is stationed at
Camp Pendleton. "Now it's me relating things I've seen over
there, because she has never been."
Although he had never been on the board of any organization,
Chris agreed to join the board of Stars for Stripes and says
it has been an incredible experience. "We had a meeting
today and I was sitting there thinking how great it was to
be part of an organization that has the capabilities to make
a difference in someone's life. I know when I visited the
troops overseas for the first time, it changed my life."
Recalling that first trip, Chris says they took two
Wounded Warriors with them who spoke to the troops. "It
was amazing to hear their stories, and see them have the
same drive to go and tell those experiences to other
soldiers. I became friends with them and I stay in touch
with them."
Darryl's last trip to the Middle East was to Tikrit, where
to his surprise he saw a group of men from his hometown of
Savannah, Tenn. "They were in the 278 and they drove all day
to get to the show, and then they had to turn around and
drive 250 miles to get back to their camp," the singer
recalls. "I expressed my concern for their safety, having to
travel all night, and they were like, 'No one is going to
bother us in this MRAP!' It's a huge military armored
vehicle that was designed to survive attacks and ambushes."
While everyone enjoyed the performances by the three
entertainers, all eyes were on John and Jan Vigiano and Lt.
Jason Redman, who were honored during the evening's
festivities. The Vigiano's lost two sons in the 9/11 attack
on the World Trade Center, one a firefighter for the NYFD
and the other a detective for NYPD.
Redman is a former Navy Seal who was wounded while serving
in Iraq. He has founded
Wounded Wear, an organization that provides free
clothing and clothing modifications for wounded warriors. He
also uses it to help raise awareness of the sacrifices made
by the men who were wounded during their military service
and how it has affected them and their families.
John Vigiano said he hopes that by being a part of events
such as Stars for Stripes, he can keep the memory of the
events of September 11 alive in people's minds.
In addition to items sold in a silent auction, Charlie,
Chris and Darryl offered autographed lyrics that were
auctioned spontaneously during the program. Charlie gave
two autographed copies of his lyrics for 'Let em Win or
Bring em Home,' which went for $12,000 each. Chris
contributed lyrics to his hit 'Tomorrow,' co-written
with Frank Myers and Anthony Smith, which brought in
$6,000. Darryl's lyrics for his hit 'Have You Forgotten'
raked in $3,000.