"Honoring Heroes for the Holidays"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kristen Schremp
Cell: 703.928.5527
Email: Kristen@kaspublicity.com, media@MoveAmericaForward.org

“Honoring Heroes for the Holidays” 40-City Tour Pledges to Raise Morale and 100,000 Holiday Cards for Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan

“After spending 15 holidays away from family while serving, I know firsthand that that it can be lonely. When the holidays come, the distance between our soldiers and the nation becomes much more profound and difficult.” -Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson
National Pro-Troop Holiday Tour to Begin November 25

(SACRAMENTO) – As the nation prepares for the holiday season, soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will sit thousands of miles away as their children open Christmas presents around the tree or get excited as the menorah continues to burn in their homes. During the holidays it is increasingly important that soldiers know their sacrifices away from family and friends have not gone unnoticed. This holiday season, Move America Forward (MAF) is determined to raise troop morale by showing the nation’s support and appreciation for their service.

Beginning November 26, Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop organization, will launch its most extensive cross-country effort to date. In the span of less of than three weeks, MAF will be holding rallies in 40 cities across the nation, sending more than 100,000 holiday cards to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and holding a holiday concert in our nation’s capitol to honor wounded warriors and support U.S. troops fighting overseas.

Debbie Lee, mother of the first Navy Seal killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom, is traveling with the MAF caravan and knows all too well the sacrifices made by our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. She says, “As a way of honoring my son’s service, I am pledging to let soldiers serving overseas know that we support them and recognize their sacrifices. I hope Americans will put aside their political differences and stand united in their support.”

MAF invites members of the public to bring holiday cards for the troops to the rallies (city dates and times can be found on the website – www.MoveAmericaForward.org) which will be sent from local post offices along the tour route to help MAF reach its goal of sending more than 100,000 holiday cards to Iraq and Afghanistan. Over 10,000 holiday cards have already flooded into MAF’s headquarters! The rallies will also have card-making stations, live music, speeches, and much more.

The tour delegation will include singer/songwriter Diana Nagy, who will perform her patriotic smash "Where Freedom Flies" at the events along with a collection of patriotic and holiday songs; Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee – mother of first Navy Seal killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Blue Star Mom Deborah Johns - mother of a U.S. Marine who has served 3 tours of duty in Iraq, will talk about the importance of supporting our troops; and Lt. Colonel Buzz Patterson (USAF) will speak about his 20 years service in the U.S. Air Force.

Nearing the conclusion of the tour, MAF will hold “A Song for Their Service” pro-troop holiday concert at 8:00 pm on December 14th at the Lincoln Theatre in DC. Performers include chart-topping country music star Mark Wills, American Idol Finalist Jessica Sierra, Christian singer Russ Lee, singer/songwriter Melanie Dekker, singer/songwriter Christy Ann, inspirational vocalist Lloyd Marcus and singer Diana Nagy. Special guests will include America's wounded warriors from Walter Reed Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Once the tour concludes in New York City on December 16th, a delegation from MAF will travel to Iraq to personally deliver the remaining cards to our troops. This will mark the 3rd trip to Iraq that MAF has made.

To schedule an interview with MAF Vice-Chairman Buzz Patterson, MAF Chairman Melanie Morgan, Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee, Blue Star Mom Deborah Johns or Singer/songwriter Diana Nagy, please contact Kristen Schremp at Kristen@kaspublicity.com, media@moveamericaforward.org, or 703.928.5527