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If you’re planning to spend your Memorial Day holiday on the couch this year, considering tuning in to watch Vanessa Williams, along with a host of other stars, including Laurence Fishburne, whom Vanessa considers “a dear friend,” and actors Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise, during this year’s National Memorial Day Concert telecast on PBS.
Williams, who will perform the classic song “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” also promises that viewers will be treated to special tributes throughout the broadcast, including one in honor of famous African-American military pilots the Tuskegee Airmen, who fought during World War II.
Vanessa adds, “They are an amazing group of men and we’re lucky to still have some of them around.”
The “Sweetest Days” singer also anticipates a segment during the show that will feature the last surviving member of the original 80-member air raiding group the “Doolittle Raiders,” retired Lieutenant Colonel Dick Cole.
Vanessa explains, “Colonel Cole is a 101 years old and he will be there and they’re giving a tribute to him. He was one of the bombers after their Pearl Harbor attack and he’s still alive. I can’t wait to see that moment as well.”
Overall, Vanessa hopes that as many people as possible will tune in for the special television event, which she says is “a wonderful day to celebrate our veterans.”
“It’s done in a spectacular fashion and it truly makes you feel like you’re an American citizen.”
You can watch the National Memorial Day Concert on Sunday, May 28 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS.
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