This year’s annual National Memorial Day Concert on the National Mall featured a stirring tribute to veterans of the Vietnam War. The concert, which aired Sunday evening on PBS, included a surprising addition: Hans Zimmer’s “Honor” from the HBO miniseries The Pacific.
Asked to stand up for the performance, the Vietnam veterans in the audience were honored by the National Symphony Orchestra and multi-branch military choir with a moving rendition of the Zimmer piece. The camera panned the audience, transitioning between close-ups of Vietnam veterans with images of the Vietnam Memorial on the Mall and Arlington Cemetery. As if on cue, the sea of American flags fluttered majestically behind the choir.
