When Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna first started co-hosting the National Memorial Day Concert with “Forrest Gump” actor Gary Sinise, he said Memorial Day had a different meaning.
Mantegna, famous for several roles including as David Rossi in CBS’s “Criminal Minds,” grew up knowing he had “five immediate male figures in my life who were all veterans,” including his father’s younger brother who was at Pearl Harbor. But it wasn’t until his involvement with the concert, he says, that he really became immersed in the history of the U.S. military. That’s when his understanding of the service of World War II veterans, and Memorial Day as a whole, took on a different meaning.
“It furthers my appreciation, as each year goes by, for the fact that there are these men and women who have taken it upon themselves to actually volunteer to dedicate a significant portion of their life — if not their entire life — to doing something that ensures the happiness and freedoms that everybody in this country share,” Mantegna told Military Families Magazine during a phone interview.
This year’s annual night of remembrance focuses on America’s 250th anniversary, and will feature key historical events presented by prominent entertainers, including segments on:
1776 American Revolution with acclaimed Emmy® and Golden Globe Award-winning actor/director/producer/writer Noah Wyle of “The Pitt.”
WWII 85th anniversary of Pearl Harbor with renowned Emmy®-nominated actor Jonathan Banks of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” In attendance will be Navy veteran Chuck Kohler who was stationed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked and “plunged the nation into WWII.”
25th anniversary remembrance of 9/11 attacks with Academy Award®-winning actress Melissa Leo of “King Ivory” and “Frozen River.” In attendance will be retired Army Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, who “was standing in her office just 100 yards from where Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.”
Additionally, the program will feature tributes to Vietnam War veterans and a traditional playing of taps to honor Gold Star Family members.
Mantegna, who has now hosted the concert with Sinise for more than 20 years, explained that every year, he and the other participants walk away saying “that was something.”
“It’s just that understanding of that kind of sacrifice,” he continued. “I mean, everybody grows up as a child with dreams and aspirations of what you want to do, what you want to be — you want to be this, you want to be that … but that whole idea of taking the path of the military and there’s something very selfless about that, that it’s for the benefit of those who you don’t even necessarily know … [and] that you are now devoting your life to help protect that lifestyle that we all have.”
Mantegna added that he realizes he was one of the lucky ones because all five of his uncles came back, and so growing up there wasn’t a lot of conversation about their service. But as the years went on of him hosting the concert, even having the opportunity to bring those family members to the event, he began to have a deeper appreciation of the significance of Memorial Day.
“There’s a reason that we carved out this day, and I would say this, go ahead and enjoy that weekend,” he said. “Yes, you’ve been given this holiday — if you want to BBQ or watch the Indianapolis 500, there’s all these things that are happening, but carve out that 90 minutes of that weekend, of that three-day weekend that you’ve been given, and watch this concert. It will have an impact on you, as it did on me, as it does on everyone who experiences it.”
“Once you see this concert you will understand, this is our most important holiday because it’s the holiday that lets us have all the other holidays.”
Viewers can watch this year’s National Memorial Day Concert on livestream at 8 p.m. ET this Sunday, May 24, while a broadcast is available around the world for U.S. service members on the American Forces Network.
The PBS website also includes a lineup of performers, the history of Memorial Day, and a Wall of Remembrance with letters and emails submitted “in honor of loved ones and friends who have been wounded or died in one of America’s conflicts.”
