Troop Tribute Spotlights National Guardsman

By Linda D. Kozaryn

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2005 – Country music fans phoned WMZQ radio throughout the day Oct. 8 asking one question: would the heavy rains stop the Tribute to the Troops?
Luke Stricklin (above), an Arkansas National Guardsman and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, and members of his band perform Oct. 8 at the Tribute to the Troops at Nissan Pavilion in Manassas, Va.

Not to worry, the disc jockeys said. The show would go on. People with tickets for lawn seats at the Nissan Pavilion in Manassas, Va., could now sit inside the open-air concert arena.

One caller vowed the sporadic downpours wouldn't keep her away. "I'll be there," she said. "The troops don't stop fighting just because it rains."

Thousands of other country-music-loving troop supporters showed the same determination.

They coped with the wet weather and dodged local flooding to attend the concert starring country music stars Montgomery Gentry, with special guests Chely Wright and Keith Anderson.
Information Manufacturing Corp. and the United Service Organizations were among the show's sponsors. Proceeds would benefit Paralyzed Veterans of America.
As people filled their seats, a public service video aired on the pavilion's big screens telling fans they could send a message of support to the troops by logging onto http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/AmericaSupportsYou/index.html, a Defense Department Web site that highlights troop support events across America.
A newcomer on the country music scene, Luke Stricklin, an Arkansas National Guard specialist and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, opened the show. After singing songs off his debut album, Stricklin sang his hit single "American, by God's Amazing Grace."

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