Remembering Our Fallen Virtual Wall of Remembrance Launches as Part of PBS' National Memorial Day Concert

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today marks the launch of the Remembering Our Fallen online initiative, a new "virtual wall" of remembrance designed to feature personal stories about war veterans and fallen or injured members from America's Armed Forces. The announcement was made by Michael Colbert, producer for Capital Concerts, Inc, the non-profit organization and the nation's leading producer of live patriotic television shows, including PBS's highest-rated performance specials, the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT and A CAPITOL FOURTH. The Remembering Our Fallen initiative is a unique extension of the comprehensive website for the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT.

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Viewers, or anyone who has lost a loved one to our nation's conflicts, may submit video tributes or photographs as well as written remembrances in the form of a letter, story or even a poem to the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT website at http://www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/.  

For those who request it, the remembrances will be hand-carried directly to the appropriate memorial site around Veterans Day.  At each location – the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery (for the fallen buried there and those who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan) – there will be a remembrance ceremony including prayers by a member of the clergy and the playing of Taps by a military bugler from one of the branches of our armed forces.  Remembering Our Fallen is designed to be a year-round initiative.

For more than two decades, the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT has united the country in remembrance of all our men and women in uniform, their families at home and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  The concert has built a loyal following of viewers around the country and attendees at the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol who return year after year to experience the concert.

"We are honored to host this 'virtual wall' for our viewers to share stories of loved ones, pay tribute to the lives lost, take comfort in the recollections shared by others and begin healing as we try to help put the 'memory' back in Memorial Day," said Colbert.

This year's NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT will be broadcast live in HD from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, on PBS Sunday, May 29 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 Network.  Co-hosted by acclaimed actors Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna, the all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists includes: distinguished American leader Colin L. Powell USA (Ret.); American Idol finalist Pia Toscano; Academy and Emmy Award-winning actors Forest Whitaker and Dianne Wiest; American Idol winner Kris Allen; King of the Blues B.B. King; acclaimed actor Jason Ritter; and classical superstar Hayley Westenra.

Web Site and Press Materials

The website  www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert  will also feature a comprehensive viewer's guide to the 2011 concert.  Broadcast quality video footage is available at the following FTP site: http://capitalconcerts.org/mediacenter/mem-day/.  Additional press materials can be found at www.pbs.org/pressroom.

Production Credits

The program is a co-production of Jerry Colbert of Capital Concerts and WETA, Washington, D.C.  For the 2011 event, executive producer Jerry Colbert and producer Michael Colbert have assembled an award-winning production team that features the top Hollywood talent behind some of television's most prestigious entertainment awards shows.  The team includes: Emmy award-winning producer Walter C. Miller, whose credits include the GRAMMY AWARDS and COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS; award-winning director Paul Miller whose credits include THE COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE; and veteran television writer Joan Meyerson who was honored with distinguished Writer's Guild Awards for the 2010 and 2006 broadcasts of the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT.  

SOURCE Capital Concerts