Operation National Anthem

A friend serving in a civilian capacity as support for our troops in Iraq, Harrison Thomas, told me the story of a Jamaican contractor who holds great respect for the USA national anthem. In fact, he feels so strongly about this piece of music that one day when he dies, he is to be buried on Jamaican soil but The Star Spangled Banner is to be played as he is laid to rest. This Jamaican citizen went on to say that when he visited friends in the US and attended a sporting event, he was shocked and dismayed to see people leave their hats on, talk, chat on cell phones, etc., while our national anthem was being played. Inspired by this story, I wrote a script and Harrison presented the idea to the Armed Services Network in Iraq. The idea was that soldiers serving in the area would record a simple request to be played at events, large or small, around the United States. That is how Operation National Anthem came to be.

This is where you become a part of Operation National Anthem. Please pass this information on to anyone in a position to play one of the clips prior to the national anthem at any event. The quality may be low for larger, stadium size screens but I believe the audience will overlook that and appreciate the message. Or feel free to ‘borrow’ the idea and record your own soldier with the same message. Thank you for your support of Operation National Anthem.

Thank you to Reader’s Digest for naming Dayna Steele one of the “35 People Who Inspire Us” and for naming Operation National Anthem “Best Patriotic Pitch” in the May 2008 issue. We are flattered and overwhelmed by the recognition and response. Buy the t-shirt and keep us going!