12:00 AM - 12:00 AM
This concert features the country music star Chris Janson and will honor veterans and current service personnel in the Dayton, OH area.
HHV held its second concert series of 2016. This is the first event that commemoration staff has attended during this year. The concert was well attended by a wide range of individuals from a variety of age ranges and included about 250 Vietnam veterans. The concert venue was well suited for hosting concerts and commemorative events due to the large floor plan and traditional performance theater.
A pre-concert reception was held in which MjGen Fields spoke on the Commemoration. Several organizations were featured, utilizing promotional videos and local radio DJs. The Commemoration's Sam Elliot video was played to segue into the symbolic pinning of 5 Vietnam veterans in front of the audience. The concert itself lasted about 2 hours, during which time the Commemoration booth was manned by SSgt Hartman in order to capture Vietnam veterans as they entered and exited the venue.
Due to DoD travel regulations, the travel team was required to seek billeting at the nearby Wright-Patterson AFB (~15 miles). Although the concert venue was located 1-3 blocks from several hotels within per-diem, the travel team spent about 3 hours during the mission day traveling to and from the airport, venue, and on-base hotel. Mechanical failure of the rental vehicle resulted in the tem being stranded at the concert venue for 2 hours. MajGen Fields was able to seek shelter in the hotel one block from the venue where the rest of the HHV concert staff was residing and used this extra time to thank HHV's senior leadership and to advance partnership.
Dayton, OH represents a large segment of current and former military, due to its relative proximity to WPAB and other urban centers. Future events would be favorable in this location due to the perceived veteran population.