Memorial Day concert marks ‘a living holiday’

By Kathy Blumenstock

A salute to the sacrifices of wartimes past, combined with a tribute to soldiers of the present, will headline PBS’s annual National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall (8 p.m. Sunday).

Jerry Colbert, the event’s executive producer, said he wanted to help viewers remember the veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as those from World War II.

“The guys from the ‘greatest generation,’ we’re losing more of them all the time,” Colbert said. “They all need some acknowledgement.”

The program, hosted by actors Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise, includes dramatic readings and musical performances. Among those scheduled to appear: Gladys Knight, Sarah Brightman, Idina Menzel, Rodney Atkins, Caitlin Wachs, Denis Leary, Gail O’Grady and John Schneider, as well as former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. The National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Erich Kunzel, returns for its annual rendition of patriotic songs.

A special tribute to actor Charles Durning includes film segments on his military service. Durning, who returns for the 15th time as a participant in the concert, “was in the first wave at Normandy, in the Battle of the Bulge, and he liberated a death camp,” Colbert said.

After the film segment, the program will “contrast World War II with today’s servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.”