More than 900 guests — including men and women in uniform, dedicated honorees and a star-studded list of performers — packed the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel to support our troops at the 2010 United Service Organizations Gala “Salute to Military Families.”
Funnyman Bill Engvall, of “The Bill Engvall Show,” was master of ceremonies, and country music sensation Trisha Yearwood headlined the entertainment for the event.
Yearwood, a three-time Grammy Award-winning artist, struck a chord with guests and tugged at a few heart strings when she sang “How Do I Live Without You.”
“I respect the courage that you have and I don’t want to do what you do and I am honored to be a part of tonight,” she said to the soldiers in attendance.
She then performed husband Garth Brooks‘ hit song “We Shall Be Free,” which spotlighted the message of the gala.
Yearwood said Brooks wanted to attend the event but was busy prepping to work with former President Carter to build a house for Habitat for Humanity.
“He is sorry he can’t be with me, and I’m sorry I can’t be with him. They are both such worthy events,” she said.
Among the other celebrities and VIPs who showed up to support the USO gala and our troops: Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn; Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz; “Prison Break” star William Fitchner; “Sons of Anarchy” star Kim Coates and Rose McGowan of “Charmed”.
