On Friday, April 17th the Lt. Dan Band played to a sold out crowd at Joe’s Bar in Chicago.  Each year this particular concert is a fundraiser for the United States Vietnam Arts Program which has expanded its mission to include providing “artistic tools” to wounded service members from Iraq and Afghanistan wars (read more about USVAP here).

During the concert, “artistic tools” were presented to Shane Parsons and Laura Narvaez.   Shane suffered a head injury and above knee amputation to both legs while serving in Iraq.  Laura suffers from traumatic brain injuries as a result of incidents while serving in Iraq and Korea; she cannot read or do math and has short term memory loss.  To help them heal in ways not visible to many of us,  the USVAP presented Shane with a guitar to pursue his childhood dream of playing one and his love of music;  Laura was presented with a camera to pursue her love of photography.

And while Shane and Laura were the true VIPs of the evening, part of the USVAP fundraising efforts included VIP All-Access passes and a VIP Meet and Greet event with Gary held after the show.  The VIP All-Access donors were invited to attend the afternoon sound-check, enjoy dinner with the band, a private introduction and photographs with Gary and Kimo as well as a copy of the American Soldier DVD narrated by Gary (this is the video montage which kicked off the show and is available via the USVAP website), Lt. Dan Band merchandise and Kimo’s War Stories CD.

The first two photographs below are from the sound check earlier in the day.  They are graciously provided by Glenda C.  and with many thanks from me personally because I arrived much too late in the day (Cubs game!) to take any photos worth sharing.  (Maybe next year!)  Click on the photos to enlarge.
Gary:                                                 Kimo, Ernie, Beth and Gary:

And many thanks to Alice E.  for sharing her photographs of Gary from the show!

Thanks to Kimo, Gary and the band for a terrific evening and fantastic show! Our best wishes and much gratitude to Shane and Laura!  And many thanks to Glenda and Alice for sharing their photographs!

WASHINGTON/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On Memorial Day weekend, PBS will unite our nation with an evening that has become an American tradition. The multi award-winning National Memorial Day Concert honors 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.  The 2009 event commemorates 20 years on air as the nation’s memorial service, offering viewers a time to remember, to heal and bring our country together.  The program is co-hosted for the fourth year by Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise (CSI: New York) and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veteran’s causes and supporting our troops in active service. The top-rated show will be broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on PBS Sunday, May 24 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings) before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Radio and Television Network.

Longtime friends and Gary fans, Laura B. and Gail T.* vacationed in Hollywood recently and were thrilled to catch the Lt. Dan Band in concert at the Canyon Club. This was their first time seeing the band and report it was an amazing show!

Thanks so much to Laura and Gail for sharing a few of their photos!

* A little reminiscing: Laura and Gail along with a number of other lucky Gary fans first met in 1997 when GWI (Gary’s Web International) held its first fundraising breakfast ~ with Gary as special guest. Remember when: click here and scroll to the bottom of the page. Great to know some of you are still friends and stay in touch!