Kellie Pickler Embarks on 5th USO Tour to Celebrate Memorial Day Weekend
Kellie Picker on her 4th USO Tour in 2011
USO photo by Fred Greaves
Since taking the country music world by storm with her debut single, “Red High Heels,” in 2006, Kellie Pickler has been a proud supporter of the U.S. Military. The blonde bombshell even celebrated her honeymoon while on a USO tour.
This week, just in time for Memorial Day, Kellie packed up and headed out on her 5th USO tour.
“I’ve been so blessed to work a lot with the USO and travel overseas to Afghanistan and Iraq and Kosovo and all kinds of other military bases (laughs) and places, but I’ve been able to go over there and see firsthand just exactly what they’re doin’,” Pickler says. “And man, I…it takes a very special person to sacrifice everything. And when I say ‘everything,’ I don’t mean just their time – I mean their life. Everything! Their family, their kids, their loved ones. You sacrifice every thing to put your life on the line for us, and it’s such a great, great, honorable, heroic thing. And so this weekend’s very special, and we just have to raise our glass to them and keep ‘em all in our prayers and always say ‘thank you.’”
As well as preparing for her trip, Kellie is also ready to honor the military during Memorial Day weekend. She recently attended and performed at a Grand Ole Opry special, Noteworthy at the Opry. Kellie, along with Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts, Montgomery Gentry, and Ronnie Milsap will all appear in a 90-minute special to be aired on GAC this Saturday at 9 p.m. EST.
As many families prepare for parties and time with friends and family, Kellie explained what makes Memorial Day special. “I know Memorial Day weekend is such a special time to celebrate with your friends and your family and veterans and people that are still serving in the military. And it’s really just about celebrating our freedom and celebrating how we got freedom. It didn’t come free, that’s for sure.”
On top of taking time to honor them with concerts, Kellie also likes to thank servicemen, wherever and whenever she may meet them. “Anytime I see someone in the airport or at the grocery store or anywhere and they’re in uniform, it really means a lot just to go up and say ‘thank you.’ I get asked all the time, ‘Well, you know, I don’t know how to…you know, I can’t go to Afghanistan, and I don’t…what can I do?’ And it’s small things like saying ‘thank you’ that make the biggest difference because it shows appreciation, and it shows that you respect what they’re doin’. Regardless if you agree or disagree with what’s goin’ on, it’s wrong to not say ‘thank you’ and give ‘em a hug and let ‘em know that you appreciate what they’re doin’.”
