The Devil went down to ... Tallil?

Photo By Staff Sgt. Engels Tejeda | Charlie Daniels performs at LSA Adder's amphitheater April 15, 2006.  

TALLIL, IRAQ

04.28.2006

Courtesy Story

207th Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP ADDER, Iraq - Charlie Daniels shredded dozens of bows during a Stars for Stripes tour through Kuwait and Iraq April 10 through 20, 2006.

The legendary country singer and CBS Early Show's Dave Price visited troops in Tallil April 15, just hours after the troops finished the Boston Marathon in Iraq. The tour, which had played in Kuwait's Camp Arifjan the day before, drew record crowds in virtually every post visited. In Arifjan, for example, where the largest Morale, Welfare and Recreation crowd to date had been around 3,500, Charlie Daniels attracted about 7,500 troops. In Tallil, the number of fans easily surpassed 1,000.

It was Daniels" and Price's second tour through Iraq, and this time they visited with more than 4,000 pounds of gadgets to leave for the troops from Daniels" Operation Heart String.

"When we were over here last year I noticed that a lot of the troops played but they didn't have instruments," Daniels said.

Daniels returned home and started asking musical instrument companies to donate equipment for the troops. He thought he would get a few donations, maybe some guitars. He ended up with three pallets of equipment including more than a hundred guitars, drums, 6,000 CDs, DVDs, DVD players, computers, microphones and even amplifiers.

"I want it to be an ongoing thing," Daniels said. "I know everybody sent toothbrushes when you guys first got over here."

Now that personal hygiene is covered, he wants to accessorize the troops with musical instruments. The tour delivered most of the equipment to bases that are remote and generally inaccessible to civilian tours. Throughout the tour, Soldiers were called on to the stage to participate. In Baghdad, for example, Capt. Ruth Vetter, a legal adviser with the Multinational Corps Iraq, got to play the violin with Daniels during the show. But even those who were not lucky enough to play with Daniels or to get one of his autographed bows " he threw several to the crowd " said this was one of the best morale events they've been to.

"It mellows out things," said Spc. Donavan Jameson, a truck driver from New Mexico's 1116th Transportation Company, who goes on combat logistic patrols three times weekly.

"Since I was 15, I've liked his "hillbilly - rock" type music," added Sgt. Keith York, a gun truck commander with the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment. "My favorite song of his would have to be "Simple Man." It talks about how things used to be and how things should be."

Just as York declared his favorite song, Daniels began playing "Simple Man" and York began singing along. York had visited Daniels" museum in Nashville two years ago and admitted that he never expected to see the legend in Iraq.

For his part, Price doubled as a comic and master of ceremony for the show.

"It is great to be here, we've had a remarkable, I mean a remarkable reception," Price said, thanking Adder's garrison commander, Lt. Col. Keith Pearce, for hosting them.

He joked that he didn't get as warm of a response from the audience because he wasn't from Fox.

Daniels said he had a special message for the troops from America.

"I would like to say thank you," Daniels said, "you are in our hearts, you are in our prayers. I travel the United States of America from coast to coast from border to border every year, and I want to tell you the support that you folks have in the United States of America is very strong and very real, God bless you."

Asked if he plans to return, he said, "If you guys stay here, and I get invited back, we'll be here, yes sir."

• Date Taken: 04.28.2006
• Date Posted: 04.28.2006 11:47
• Story ID: 6168
• Location: TALLIL, IQ