PRESS RELEASE:

For more than 20 years, PBS has been proud to honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, their families at home and all those who have given their lives for our country with the annual broadcast of the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT. This year the concert airs on KUED Sunday, May 30 at 7:00 p.m.

The multi award-winning event, broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, will be co-hosted for the fifth year by Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna, two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veterans' causes and supporting our troops in active service.

The 21st annual broadcast of the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT will air live in HD before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world via the American Forces Network.

Joining co-hosts Sinise and Mantegna will be an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists including: Gen. Colin L. Powell USA (Ret.); Grammy, CMA and ACM Award-winning country music artist Brad Paisley; classical crossover artist Katherine Jenkins; and three-time Tony-nominated Broadway star Kelli O'Hara in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra.

This year's concert will honor the sacrifices, suffering and love of a new generation of young military widows whose fallen spouses served in Iraq and Afghanistan. As this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, the broadcast will also pay tribute to the heroic service of the soldiers who fought and perished in the "forgotten war."

The concert will also pay homage to the more than 125,000 WWI and WWII service members who did not come home, but rest in the 24 military cemeteries in the foreign lands where they fought for liberty.

The NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT features uplifting musical performances, documentary footage and dramatic readings that honor all Americans who have served or made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

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