Country music star Lee Greenwood, whose "God Bless the USA" became a patriotic anthem since its release in 1984, told Newsmax on Friday that veterans are especially invited to view a special movie, "An All-Star Salute to Lee Greenwood," which brings many of the nation's top country artists together to perform his music for a one-time showing.
"We're pretty excited about this," Greenwood said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "It's a really monster show with 40 different singers. It was recently CMA Week in Nashville, but we have five times the amount of artists on stage than they did."
The concert movie, a one-night event on Sunday, features the music Greenwood has created over the past 40 years while focusing on Veterans Day weekend, he said.
"With our troops getting into harm's way once again, [with] international conflict, it's time to focus on those veterans who have been there before us and being in combat sacrificed so much for us," Greenwood said.
He said those who visit Adopt a Vet website can "adopt" a veteran and send that person and a caregiver to see the movie for free with a donation, with a goal to honor 50,000 veterans. Donors will also receive a DVD of the movie after its release.
The concert will include performances by several big names in country music, such as Big & Rich, Dustin Lynch, Lee Brice, Jamey Johnson, Crystal Gayle, the Oak Ridge Boys, and many more, said Greenwood.
"It was interesting that no one said no unless it was a schedule conflict," he said. "When I mentioned it was going to be shown on Veterans Day weekend, everybody just jumped immediately."
Veterans, Greenwood added, "like to get back to the rail, the kind of life that they lived before they went into the military. This gives them a chance to see something really fabulous."
He added that tickets can be purchased through the Fathom Events website.
Greenwood said it remains important to honor the nation's veterans, even while fewer families these days have someone in uniform.
"Of course, after World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, we had every family in the United States that had somebody that was in the military, and now it's maybe a small percentage," he said.
Still, "the times that you have when you go to work every day, you drive your car, you go from state to state, it's a free country," said Greenwood. "It's only free because our military has sacrificed for us. Let's not forget them this Veterans Day. Go to the movies … give them a wonderful time and see some wonderful entertainment and at the very end, I will sing 'God Bless the USA' and dedicate it to the veterans in this country."