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thedrifter
11-29-06, 11:26 AM
November 29, 2006
Country singer Tippin returns from visiting troops

By Beth Zimmerman
Staff writer

The country artist behind the songs “You’ve Got to Stand for Something” and “Kiss This” returned Monday from spending Thanksgiving with service members in the Middle East.

Aaron Tippin visited troops in Kuwait and Afghanistan from Nov. 18 to Nov. 27, when most Americans were celebrating with friends and family.

It’s during holidays that service members think of home the most, Tippin said, so he wanted “to bring a little taste of home to them.”

Tippin and his band traveled with Stars for Stripes, a nonprofit organization that provides entertainment for service members overseas. They performed for troops throughout the two countries, signing autographs and meeting folks along the way.

Reflecting on his trip, Tippin said, “Every moment is special to me.”

But what touched him the most, he said, was the thanks he received upon returning to Nashville.

“So many people [deployed overseas] had called their loved ones back home to tell them I was doing a show for them,” he said. “Everyone on this side of the world was telling me how inspiring it was — that really meant the most to me right there.”


Tippin’s trip was an encore of sorts for the country music artist, who has participated in morale-building shows in the Middle East since he “went downrange” with Bob Hope in 1990. He spent last Thanksgiving in Iraq.

Tippin said he owes the shows to the men and women serving overseas, who are “putting their lives on the line for me and my family,” he said. “I feel like it’s the least I can do for them.”

Ellie