Kellie Pickler Salutes Military At Opry And Preps For Fifth USO Tour

May 23, 2012 3:26 PM

Kellie Pickler (Rick Diamond/Getty Images For Country Thunder)

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Like many country artists, Kellie Pickler is a long time supporter of U.S. troops and has made multiple USO overseas visits performing for them.

Kellie is currently gearing up for her fifth USO tour, as she notes on Twitter.

Having a closet cleaning party and packing for my 5th USO tour overseas. #nowplaying "The Fightin' Side Of Me" -Haggard—
kellie pickler (@kelliepickler) May 22, 2012

And in another show of support for the military, she also performed Tuesday night during a special military tribute show at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. The show also featured Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts, Montgomery Gentry, Ronnie Milsap, Mark Wills, and John Conlee.

Tonight I had the privilege and honor of singing a duet with the legendary Ronnie Milsap on the Grand Ole Opry stage. #Cloud9—
kellie pickler (@kelliepickler) May 23, 2012

Clips from the evening (performances and red-carpet arrivals) are scheduled to be broadcast this Saturday on Great American Country at 9pm ET/8pm CT. The show is the premiere episode of a new series that GAC calls Noteworthy at the Opry.

And with the Memorial Day weekend coming right up, she had a few thoughts (courtesy of Sony Nashville) on what the day means to her.

“I know Memorial Day weekend is such a special time to celebrate with your friends and your family and veterans and people that are still serving in the military,” says Kellie. And it’s really just about celebrating our freedom and celebrating how we got freedom. It didn’t come free, that’s for sure.”

She also explains why Memorial Day is such and important time and why we should not miss an opportunity to say “thank you.”

“Anytime I see someone in the airport or at the grocery store or anywhere and they’re in uniform, it really means a lot just to go up and say ‘thank you.’ I get asked all the time, ‘Well, you know, I don’t know how to…you know, I can’t go to Afghanistan, and I don’t…what can I do?’ And it’s small things like saying ‘thank you’ that make the biggest difference because it shows appreciation, and it shows that you respect what they’re doin’.”

“Regardless if you agree or disagree with what’s goin’ on, it’s wrong to not say ‘thank you’ and give ‘em a hug and let ‘em know that you appreciate what they’re doin’.”