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thedrifter
11-23-05, 11:42 AM
November 23, 2005
Singer rounds up guitars for Iraq troops
Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A morale-boosting project for troops in Iraq that began when North Carolina-bred singer Charlie Daniels learned that soldiers lacked guitars for church services has grown to include tens of thousands of dollars worth of donated instruments.

Daniels responded to the need earlier this year by sending one of his own, then asked guitar manufacturers to follow his example.

“Only one company that will remain nameless turned us down. Everyone else has come onboard and been more generous than I would have thought. We never envisioned this much stuff. I’m overwhelmed by the support out there for the troops,” said Daniels, whose platinum single “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” topped both country and pop charts and won a Grammy.

Gibson Guitar, one of the nation’s top instrument makers, surprised the Wilmington native by offering 100 guitars, worth $35,000, and thousands of dollars worth of accessories.

“We’re talking about guys over there who are representing us and putting life on the line,” co-owner Henry Juszkiewicz said. “They don’t get enough feedback from us back home, so any time we can let them know we appreciate their sacrifice, I’m in. I told Charlie we may do it again.”

Other companies have followed Gibson’s example, donating hundreds more electric and acoustic guitars, as well as dozens of keyboards, drum kits, microphones and amplifiers. Contributions to the effort called “Operation Heartstrings” have included laptop computers and thousands of DVDs and CDs.

Daniels, 69, even arranged transport of the donations to the Middle East thanks to some help he worked out with the Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Air National Guard. He and his band were on a tour of the Middle East at the time, doing nine shows for 15,000 soldiers.

“We found that many of them played musical instruments of one kind or another and they wanted to sit in with the band. But they didn’t have enough instruments to go around,” said Daniels, who performs in Charlotte Friday.

“We think about them needing bullets, guns, blankets and armor, but there is a lot of long, lonely downtime there in Iraq. They need something that offers a reprieve from thinking about being in harm’s way all the time.”

Ellie

rb1651
11-23-05, 11:52 AM
It's refreshing to hear that at least some of our entertainment people are stepping up and showing support for our troops. A big oorah to Charlie Daniels and the musical instrument suppliers for what they are doing for our warriors in harms way.

Ron