For Release: 2009-05-13 09:07:00
PBS unites the nation with an evening that has become an American tradition in the annual presentation of National Memorial Day Concert, honoring the service and sacrifice of U.S. men and women in uniform, their families at home and all those who have given their lives for the country. It airs Sunday, May 24 at 8/7 p.m. CT on KET1 and KET HD and Sunday, May 24 at 10:30/9:30 p.m. CT on KET2.The 2009 event commemorates 20 years on air and is co-hosted for the fourth year by Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna, two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veterans' causes.
The all-star lineup is scheduled to include dignitaries, actors and musical artists, including distinguished American leader Colin L. Powell; actors Katie Holmes, Laurence Fishburne and Dianne Wiest; recording artist and actress Katharine McPhee; country music's Trace Adkins; Broadway stars Brian Stokes Mitchell and Colm Wilkinson; opera's Denyce Graves; and Grammy-nominated violin virtuoso Robert McDuffie in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra. The program will be broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
Also airing this week is Fighting for Life, a portrait of American military medicine as told by military doctors, nurses and medics amidst the vortex of the Iraq War. The program airs Sunday, May 24 at 9:30/8:30 p.m. CT on KET1. And, Hallowed Grounds, airing Monday, May 25 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2 and KET HD and Tuesday, May 26 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1 , visits 22 of America's extraordinary overseas military cemeteries and weaves powerful stories about the men and women who are buried in them.
National Memorial Day Concert 2009 is produced by Capital Concerts. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.
Contact: Ellen Soileau
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