The Emmy-Winning Veterans Day TV Special Returns with Star Studded Lineup Including Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Sinise, Scarlett Johansson,
John Krasinski, Matthew McConaughey, Robin Roberts, Maria Menounos, Omar Epps,
Sarah Drew and Kellie Pickler
The American Veterans Center’s annual broadcast special in honor of Veterans Day, American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes, will once again return to television this year. Emmy Award nominated actor/comedian veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Rob Riggle, pays tribute to our service men and women spanning from World War II to the present day. Noted celebrities who will lend their voices to tell the stories of service and valor, including Harrison Ford, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Sinise, Scarlett Johansson, John Krasinski, Matthew McConaughey and Robin Roberts. The special will air on 11/11 and 11/12 – check your local listings here!
This very special program provides Americans at home the opportunity to meet the ordinary citizens who, through willing sacrifice in trying times, became heroes and legends.
Joining American Valor as presenters of these stories of service and sacrifice are Maria Menounos, Omar Epps and Sarah Drew with a performance by Kellie Pickler.
“It’s my great honor to be a part of this truly amazing event and I couldn’t think of a better evening than celebrating some of our nation’s most respected heroes,” said Riggle. “I’m looking forward to meeting them and hearing their stories.”
Riggle joined the United States Marine Corps at the age of 19 and rose through the ranks, serving in various countries including Albania, Kosovo, Liberia, and Afghanistan. Lieutenant Colonel Riggle retired from the Marine Corps Reserve, having served 23 years total (9 years active duty, 14 years in the reserves) and earned more than 22 medals and ribbons.
American Valor will spotlight and honor stories of heroism from the last 75 years, including:
- The Legendary Tuskegee Airmen (Narrated by Robin Roberts)– Featuring several surviving combat pilots of the first African American flyers in U.S. military history, marking the 75th anniversary of the famed unit’s first missions in World War II, including:
o Lt. Col. Harold Brown – Combat pilot of 30 missions, shot down over enemy territory on March 14, 1945.
o Lt. Col. Robert Friend – Veteran of 142 combat missions with the Tuskegee Airmen, and wingman to the unit’s leader & the first African American general in the Air Force, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
o Lt. Col. James H. Harvey III – Pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group, flew on the team that won the military’s first ‘Top Gun’ contest in 1949. The first African American jet fighter pilot to fly in the Korean War.
o Lt. Col. George Hardy – Combat pilot of 21 missions over Germany with the Red Tails; later flew 45 combat missions in Korea.
o Lt. Col. Harry Stewart – Amassed one of the most distinguished records of any pilot with the ‘Red Tails,’ shooting down three German fighters in one day, and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
o Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson – One of the few living Tuskegee Airmen to have survived being taken prisoner of war after being shot down over Europe.
- Col. Charles McGee (Narration by Robert De Niro)–– Recipient of three Distinguished Flying Crosses, would go on to set an Air Force record of 409 combat missions flown during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
- Lt. Colonel Richard E. Cole & The Doolittle Raid (Narration by Tom Cruise)– Co-pilot to Jimmy Doolittle on the famed Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, and at 103 years old, the last survivor of the 80 Doolittle Raiders.
- CDR Dean ‘Diz’ Laird(Narration by Matthew McConaughey)– The only U.S. Navy ‘Ace’ pilot to shoot down both German and Japanese planes during World War II.
- SFC Ronald Rosser (Narration by Robert De Niro)– Recipient of the Medal of Honor for valor in the Korean War.
- Clinton J. Hill (Narration by Scarlett Johansson)– Army counterintelligence officer, and later Secret Service agent to five presidents, most noted for climbing aboard John F. Kennedy’s car to shield the president & Mrs. Kennedy after the president was shot.
- Felix Rodriguez(Narration by Aaron Eckhart) – Cuban exile & participant in the ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion, would go on to become one of the most decorated CIA officers in history, receiving the CIA’s Intelligence Star and nine awards of the Cross of Gallantry from the South Vietnamese government.
- SSG Shilo Harris (Narration by Gary Sinise)– Cavalry Scout with the 10th Mountain Div. in Iraq, grievously wounded by an IED, after more than 75 surgeries now a motivational speaker.
- Maj. Katie Higgins Cook (Narration by Harrison Ford) – Marine Corps combat pilot and first woman to fly with the famed ‘Blue Angels.’
- Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward C. Byers (Narration by John Krasinski)– U.S. Navy SEAL recipient of the Medal of Honor for valor in Afghanistan, one of two recipients currently on duty.
“It is truly an honor to call attention to these incredible men and women from our military’s past and present,” said Tim Holbert, Executive Director of the American Veterans Center and Producer of American Valor. “Their stories of service and sacrifice continue to inspire us all, and are a reminder that in the end, we’re all on the same team.”
American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes, presented by Northrop Grumman, will be nationally syndicated to over 100 million households on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox stations nationwide. In addition, it will be broadcast to U.S. troops serving around the world and on Navy ships at sea on American Forces Network. American Valor will be filmed the evening of October 27 in Washington, DC. For more information, visit AVCHonors.com.