The National Mall in DC was packed with music enthusiasts. But not just any music lovers, they were Veterans and active-duty service members pumping their fist and swaying their body to the music. It was an event created for the Veterans Day Celebration with music by Rihanna, head banging group Metallica, as well as songs from Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and many more.
The first-of-its-kind Concert for Valor was staged by Starbucks, HBO and Chase Group was made so that people will be aware of the issues affecting veterans.
Organizers were expecting around hundreds of thousands of participants to the event. According to one the host of the affair, Jack Black "What an amazing way to celebrate veterans on Veterans Day."
The tickets for the events were free but the host had given the audience a way to support the veterands through donation and volunteer works.
According to Bobby Monk, a disabled Vietnam veteran from Washington "This is the first time since I've been back that I've felt honored to be back home, and I'm 65 years old. They treated us like criminals when we came back home. They didn't give us a parade."
According to Seattle Times Between the performances, extraordinary veterans were honored in video tributes hosted by Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey, among others. Some of the subjects appeared onstage, including Leroy Petry, a Medal of Honor recipient who lost his right hand while serving in Iraq. Petry helped inspire Starbucks president Howard Schultz to write a book about veterans and pledge to hire at least 10,000 former service members.
Comedian John Oliver, whose wife is a former U.S. Army combat medic, knows the feeling of Veterans going home and the difficulties they faced.
He said "It's kind of staggering, the dislocation over the past decade between the civilian population and the military. It offends me on a personal level."
While Schulz said "Veterans Day comes once a year. Unfortunately, at times, it's turned into an annual weekend sale. That's not what it's about."
The concert was made available in HBO which made its signal available to non-subscribers as well.
