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Wisconsin native to be highlighted in ‘National Memorial Day Concert 2024’
May 10, 2024 Leave a Comment
America’s national night of remembrance, the National Memorial Day Concert returns live from the West Lawn of the United States Capitol for a special 35th anniversary broadcast.
A tradition unlike anything else on television, the 90-minute broadcast honors the service of our men and women in uniform, military families and all those who have given their lives for our country through a unique blend of dramatic storytelling and uplifting music.
Hosted by Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna and Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise, both steadfast champions of veterans’ causes and active service members, the National Memorial Day Concert will air 7 p.m. Sunday, May 26 (with an encore broadcast at 8:30 p.m.) on PBS Wisconsin and streaming on the free PBS App.
This year, the broadcast will feature a World War II tribute – a salute to the millions of Americans who served the nation in World War II in uniform and on the home front. On the 80th anniversary of 1944, a pivotal year in the war, the tribute will commemorate hard-fought battles in the Pacific and European theaters that secured the Allied path to victory.
As part of this special segment, the concert will share the story of U.S. Army veteran John T. “Jack” Moran, a Wisconsin native and soldier in the Battle of the Bulge, and his poignant remembrance of friends who fought to save the world from tyranny but, tragically, did not make it home. Members of this Greatest Generation will be honored on stage at the U.S. Capitol.
Moran was born and raised in Superior, Wisconsin. He attended Marquette University, graduated and began working for Schlitz in Milwaukee. In 1954, he was transferred to California and has lived there ever since.
Phyllis Kosterman says:
My dad was in the 95th Infantry during World War II. Do you know what group John Moran served with?
Jo Ann Benell says:
My Wisconsin father was a bomber pilot during WWII. He was stationed in England and came home after the war to meet and marry my mother. Unlike the very many young men who went down with their planes. Dad spoke very little about the war until his last few years among us. They produced 9 children! He lived just short of his 93rd birthday.
John N. Englesby says:
Ms. Benell — Have you seen “Masters of the Air” broadcast recently on Apple+ about the US Army Air flyers who bombed over Europe in WWII? It’s well worth seeing and will give you a good idea what your dad and his other comrades who survived managed to live through against long odds!
Donna Perras says:
Mr. Englesby, we started to watch that program in my husband, a Vietnam vet, said he couldn’t watch it. He was in radar in Vietnam and felt responsible for the planes coming in and going out.
Julia Lochra says:
My Pennsylvania born father served as a B-17 radio operator out of Thorpe-Abbotts, East Anglia, England. 19 missions at age 19. He never spoke of his service until he learned of the 100th Bomb Group. We attended many reunions until his death last year.