GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D.— The U.S. Air Force Heartland of America Band performed a free Veterans Day concert November 6, 2018, at the Chester Fritz Auditorium in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
More than 700 tickets were reserved by veterans, military families and service members for the two-hour event which included a variety of tributes and classic American songs.
Andrea Stennis, an East Grand Forks local, attended the concert to honor the veterans in her family and support Master Sgt. Benjamin Kadow, a family friend and Heartland of America Band trombone player.
“My dad was in the Marines, my husband was in the Army; he and his two brothers served in Vietnam,” Stennis explained. “This concert was a good way to come together and listen to good, American music from all eras.”
The 15-member team traveled to Grand Forks from their home station of Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, to put on a performance for a crowd of all ages.
Many of the songs in the concert were tributes to specific conflicts to include World War I and II, the Korean War and Vietnam War, which moved many of the patrons to the point of tears.
The special Veterans Day concert was concluded with a medley comprised of every U.S. military service’s anthem. Veterans in the audience stood for their respective anthem to sing along proudly, clapping in rhythm as the band performed the final number in the program.