Photo By Sgt. Amber Bohlman | Service members around Guantanamo Bay watch Samantha Stephens perform a Memorial Day...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Cheers and echoes of people singing came from the Windjammer patio May 25 as service members from around Guantanamo Bay came together for a concert in tribute to the men and women who have lost their lives in service to the U.S. over the years.
Armed Forces Entertainment treated personnel here with a performance by up-and coming singer song writer, Samantha Stephens, from Eastman, Georgia.
“I am so excited because it’s been something that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s been a dream of mine for a really long time to be able to travel to the bases and sing for the Troops,” Stephens said. “The fact that it’s Memorial Day weekend makes it even more special for me. We’re really thrilled to be here.”
Stephens’ music is a combination of Soul, Pop, Americana and Blues. She performed a few of her original songs, “Might Have to Kill Me a Man” and “Foolish Man” as well as numerous covers to include “America the Beautiful.”
“When Samantha was singing ‘America the Beautiful,’ I personally got that feeling inside of me that made me proud. It’s such a beautiful song, and I appreciate that,” said Army Capt. Jeremy Quihuiz, a service member assigned to Joint Task Force Guantanamo.
Quihuiz has been in the military for over 13 years and in that time has only spent a little more than half of those years with his family on Memorial Day. His appreciation for Stephens taking the time to come here and perform was evident as he bobbed his head to the beat of the music.
“It’s really nice and patriotic of them to take their time to play music for us,” Quihuiz said.
Quihuiz wasn’t the only one appreciative of Stephens’ performance here; she herself felt honored to have been picked to join GTMO service members on this day.
“We’re grateful for everyone welcoming us this weekend but really just grateful for everything that you do,” Stephens said. “For making that sacrifice and being away from your families and coming down here and protecting us, that’s just something I treasure, and I treasure these people, so we’re real proud to be here.”
Among all of the singing, dancing and laughing that happened Monday; the evening was also filled with thanks and remembrance of the service members who put down their lives in order to make all of this possible in the first place.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be able to have days where we stop and reflect and think about those that made the ultimate sacrifice and to be able to share music and come together,” Stephens said.
As the night came to a close everyone on the Windjammer patio raised their glasses in a toast with Stephens as thanks were echoed and the music became a soft hum in the background.
| Date Taken: | 05.25.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2015 14:46 |
| Story ID: | 166822 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Hometown: | EASTMAN, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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