Alec Baldwin

[Brian Sheridan]

Ditto. If it's a publicity stunt, I'd like to see more publicity stunts from celebrities. It is very difficult to find out which performers go over to entertain our troops, what with all the important news about Britney forgetting to go to KMart to replenish her underwear drawer. My friend's spouse is serving in Iraq and they have seen Kid Rock and David Allan Grier so far. Yet my dad says it's not like during Vietnam when it was news when stars went to do USO shows and everyone heard about it. Paying a soldier's tuition is a nice gesture for Alex Baldwin. It's no more blowing his own horn than donors' names listed in any charitable organization's newsletters.

Funny you should mention that...there is an article on it in the new issue of The New Republic. It turns out all of the A listers who were there at the start (Toby Keith, Arnold Schwarezennger, Conan O'Brien) havent been seen around Baghdad. Bruce Willis had even offered a million bucks to the person who caught Saddam Hussein. He hasn't coughed up the money and now claims it was meant for someone "outside of the military." (Maybe they should re-title his new movie where he defeats fictional terrorists "Live Free or Pay Hard.")

Even in '04, guys like 50 Cent and James Gandolfini were still on USO tours.

Now in 06-07, Grier, Dean Cain, Al Franken, Jaime Kennedy, Henry Rollins, Chuck Norris, and WWE wrestlers are a few of the celebrities left.

You would think that at least some of these people could make it over to Walter Reed or other Vet's Hospitals and say hello there. If that would have happened, maybe the conditions there would have been noticed sooner.

 

[patrick1987]

Thanks, I'll have to go to the library and look at that article. I'm worried my tone implied I was denigrating Baldwin's action as a publicity stunt, I wasn't. It's a fine thing to do regardless of any star's political leanings.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

When hubby (the aforementioned spouse in Iraq) was in uniform and we were in line at the Wal-Mart near Aberdeen Proving Ground in 2005 a man struck up conversation about the impending closure of Walter Reed AND the deplorable conditions there. Seems like authorities knew, just not everybody knew, and still nothing was done. Grrr.
Thanks for the tip on that article, Brian Sheridan, I'll look that up too when I get to work tomorrow.
Hubby instant messaged me some photos of the Kid Rock appearance and while I don't care for his music, hubby does and it was cool to see him just hanging out with the guys. No pictures, but he said Grier was hilarious and also hung out with the guys.
I also like to hear about what celebrities are doing for the troops.
"Live Free or Pay Hard" lol lol

 

[Story]

The Lt. Dan Band was formed by Chicago composer Kimo Williams and actor/musician Gary Sinise. The band has completed four tours for the USO and performs regulary for troops stationed around the world. Have a look around this site for the latest photos, a/v clips, guestbook comments, and news about upcoming public concerts.

http://www.ltdanband.com/

RECENT SHOWS

We ended our 2006 schedule with a pair of performances. The first was a concert for wounded soldiers and their families at a conference in Orlando, FL (saluteheroes.org) We then traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to play for the troops stationed there.

Upcoming Public Performances
For information on any of these upcoming performances, visit our online concert schedule. In addition to these public concerts, the Lt. Dan Band continues to perform for our troops around the globe, with a European USO tour planned for May.
Sat, April 28th
House of Blues
Thu, May 3d
Joe's Bar in Chicago - Benefit for USVAP
Sat, May 5th
Steppenwolf Theatre Gala
Sat, July 21st
Rockin' for the Troops 2007