Lee Greenwood is among the recipients of this year’s Charlie Daniels Patriot Award. Greenwood will be joined by Hunt Brothers Pizza and Operation Song founders Bob Regan, Don Goodman, who is also the Freedom Sings co-founder, and John Taylor, the Entertainment Director at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.
Chris Young and Darryl Worley, both previous recipients of the Patriot Award, will perform at the event. Special guest speakers will include former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik and decorated military veterans Major General (Ret.) Max Haston, Master Sergeant (Ret.) previous Patriot Award recipient Joel Pruitt, Master Sergeant (Ret.) Steven Nisbet, who is the co-founder of Shields & Stripes, and Sergeant Major (Ret.) Jesse R. Horsley.
Storme Warren of The Big 615 Radio will co-host the event with Young. The dinner ceremony will also include a silent and live auction. Proceeds will benefit The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project.
“This is a very special time of the year for The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project,” says TCDJHP co-founder and Daniels’ longtime manager David Corlew. “It’s a time to join our community as we recognize those who have gone above and beyond in supporting the return, rehabilitation, and the reintegration of our returning veterans. It is an ongoing mission and we believe it to be and honor and obligation as Americans to help our vets.”
It was Young who quietly stepped in after Daniels passed away in 2020 to help continue the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s mission to support veterans and their families.
“I would say that for me, it’s seeing Charlie’s love for the military, getting a chance to help them raise money multiple times a year, and knowing it’s going to help our veterans who might need a leg up or might need to reintegrate into society in a way where they’re not quite prepared yet,” Young says of his involvement. “They’ve got a lot of different outreach things for veterans if they’re dealing with something, or if they need some help.”
Greenwood penned what became an unofficial anthem for America, with his “God Bless the U.S.A.” Written in 1983, he had no way of knowing at the time that the song would still be sung four decades later.
“There are those moments … You can’t argue that after the Gulf War or after [Hurricane] Katrina or after the attack on America, that there could be a possible more important moment,” Greenwood previously told Everything Nash, speaking of the song’s ongoing impact. “I’ve sung it for ten different presidents and congressional appearances across the country and in Europe. It doesn’t lose its importance.”
Greenwood and the other recipients will be honored at the Charlie Daniels Patriot Award dinner, held on September 13 at City Winery in Nashville. More information can be found at TheCharlieDanielsJourneyHomeProject.org.