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Honoring Our Troops & Veterans Through Song … “Where Freedom Flies” by Diana Nagy
November 7, 2007
With Sunday being Veteran’s Day, I’m honored to be able to introduce our readers to a wonderful artist, who pays tribute to the men and women currently serving and those who have served in the past, through a powerful song called “Where Freedom Flies.â€
I originally came across Diana Nagy’s music on Move America Forward, when I received an email from them following their last Troop Support Rally across the country. When I listened to the song, I knew that Diana had a powerful message to share with our country, about her love and support of our Troops and our Veterans. So, I contacted Diana and arranged to speak with her on the phone, Monday afternoon.
The lyrics for :”Where Freedom Flies” were written by Diana’s mother. Diana shared that her mother and been watching the news and saw a report of anti-war protestors burning the US Flag. Needless to say, Diana’s mother was extremely upset by this horrible display, that was splashed across her television set. After she went to bed that night, she couldn’t sleep, thinking about what she had seen, so around 3am she got up and put into words what she was feeling about what she had witnessed. The next day, she called Diana and told her about the song. Upon reading the lyrics, Diana said that she got chills and was moved to tears by the powerful words that her mother had written. She felt that it needed to be put to music and began the process of arranging the lyrics and music.
Diana shared that she and her family have always been very patriotic and have always stood behind our Troops and our Country. At the time that she recorded “Where Freedom Flies”, she wasn’t sure where it was going to go or what the impact of the song would be. She stressed that she and her mother wanted the song to be a tribute to our Troops and our country, without any political platform.
Diana supports several military related charities with the proceeds from her song. “Where Freedom Flies” has been chosen as the theme song of Move America Forward, who organize several Pro-Troop, Pro-Mission rallies across the Country. Their most recent project is to provide Christmas Baskets for the Troops. People wishing to help with this effort can purchase one of Diana’s CD’s and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to help with this project. You can also purchase the CD and ask that it be added to one of the Christmas baskets that Move America Forward will be sending to the Troops. Move America Forward will be holding a “Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour†from November 26th through December 16th starting in California, across the Southern part of the US and up the East Coast, ending on December 16th for a special Pro-Troop Rally at the World Trade Center grounds. Diana will be accompanying them on the tour and performing at the stops they make.
Another organization that Diana supports is Sentinels of Freedom, who has also chosen “Where Freedom Flies” as their theme song. Sentinels of Freedom was founded by Mike Conklin, of Danville, California. Diana was really excited about the work with our Wounded Warriors that Sentinels of Freedom is doing. From the website of Sentinels of Freedom, I would like to share how the program was started.
The father of three Army Rangers, Mike Conklin from Danville, Calif., was inspired to reach out to severely injured veterans after one of his sons was wounded in Iraq in 2003.
Impressed by the level of care his son received in military hospitals, and wanting to do something tangible to support U.S. troops, Mike created the nonprofit Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation sm. The four-year program is meant for veterans with severe service-related injuries who have the aptitude, attitude, and drive to become independent and successful members of society. Scholarship recipients are called “Sentinels” in honor of their sacrifice and commitment to guarding America’s freedomThe First Sentinel.With the help of Mike’s close friends and business associates, the first volunteer team formed and the program came together just in time for Spc. Jake Brown’s return to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004.
Jake was crushed by a tank while he served in Germany in 2003. After 26 surgeries and nearly a year of rehabilitation, he was welcomed home and introduced to the Sentinels support system, made up of local leaders, area businesses and community groups.
Preparing for Jake’s arrival united a community, and Mike realized the efforts didn’t have to stop with one soldier in one area of the country.
Now others have joined Jake in the program. All are service members who needed a fresh start. They are flourishing because teams of volunteers found the room in their communities and accepted a role in helping these wounded warriors regain their independence.
Sentinels of Freedom is committed to helping communities across the United States support as many of these men and women as possible. One Sentinel, one victory at a time.
The Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation is an IRS Approved 501( C ) 3 Non-Profit Foundation.
Starting out initially as a program in just the state of California, Mike is working hard to expand the program nationwide. Their Creed and Promise to our Warriors, says a lot of what they’re attempting to accomplish to help make the lives of our Wounded Warriors easier. I think the work that Mike’s doing is fantastic and I can see why Diana’s so excited about Sentinels of Freedom.
But Move America Forward and Sentinels of Freedom aren’t the only Military Charities that Diana takes part in. Diana is also active in providing assistance and donations to Blue Star Moms of America and Gold Star Families. According to Diana, each time she works with Gold Star Families, she walks away with life changing experiences each time that she performs at one of their events.
Diana has been involved with music, her entire life, performing in talent shows, choir and other musical avenues growing up. Later, Diana became involved in modeling, though she still managed to make music a part of her life, by hanging out with friends who are performers. Diana said that she was amazed how their music tended to light up a room and she wanted to be able to touch people’s hearts and lives in that manner. So, using the gift for music that she has, Diana decided to give up modeling and work on her music.
Through her song, “Where Freedom Flies”, it is Diana’s hope that she can show the love and support that she has for our Troops and our Country.
“I just want to be able to give back, to reach out and touch everyone that I possibly can and remind people of the patriotic spirit of our country,†Diana said.
“Where Freedom Flies” is the first single to be released from Diana’s album, which is due to be released on November 26th.
Diana Nagy is an incredibly talented performer and better yet, one who is willing to give back to the men and women who make it possible for each of us to follow our dreams in this country, the men and women who have served and are currently serving in our Country’s Armed Forces. Without them and the sacrifices that they’ve made and continue to make, we as American’s wouldn’t have the freedom to chose our paths in life, that we do.
I’d like to share my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Diana Nagy and her mother for the beautiful tribute to our Troops and our Veterans. I’d also like to extend my thanks to Diana for being willing to help our Troops and Veterans by her dedication and willingness to contribute a portion of the proceeds from “Where Freedom Flies” to military and veteran charities. Please take some time out of your busy day to visit Diana’s site and the sites of the organizations that I have linked below and find out about their projects.
[audio:https://soldiersmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/01-where-freedom-flies-1.mp3]
Where Freedom Flies by Diana Nagy
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5 Responses to “Honoring Our Troops & Veterans Through Song … “Where Freedom Flies” by Diana Nagy”
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[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI originally came across Diana Nagy’s music on Move America Forward, when I received an email from them following their last Troop Support Rally across the country. When I listened to the song, I knew that Diana had a powerful message … [...]
Not seeing much on the mil-blogs or fox news…no surprises there….but, the MSM had some information…..highest rate of death for GI’s since the war started…anyway for what it is worth here is the link….http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/11/06/Iraq_I0653.html
Let’s hope in 2008 that veterans day is celebrated with all our troops home..John
John, the MSM reports the negative things enough as it is. Here at ASM, we prefer to report the things that the MSM choses to ignore all together. Browse through our stories and I think you’ll see what our goal is here…. to get out the positive things that are happening because the MSM refuses to!
Sadly, that is the difference between the bubble you live in and reality….I report this as my friend’s son is being sent back from Iraq after his death by an IED two days ago at the age of 21……John
John we’re VERY aware here of the realities of War. I see it every single day in my job and I currently have a loved one serving over there. However, it’s only fair to this country’s citizens to see both sides of what’s occurring over there & the media refuses to allow them to see that. So, us here at ASM and other milbloggers have taken it upon ourselves to make sure it’s out there.