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DIERKS BENTLEY SAYS SUPPORTING THE TROOPS IS ABOUT THE LONG-TERM. (AUDIO)

DIERKS BENTLEY SAYS SUPPORTING THE TROOPS IS ABOUT THE LONG-TERM. (AUDIO)

Dierks Bentley will be celebrating Veterans Day in San Jose, California today, by holding a party prior to his show to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. Hepartnered with the organization and their Believe in Heroes initiative at selected stops on his Country & Cold Cans Tour, and has held these types of parties all over the country. Dierks feels we should honor Veterans every day,  not just one or two. ” I think what’s great about Veterans Day and the Wounded Warriors Project, which is something we’re working very closely with, is it’s not just about their ‘hurrah hurrah, we support  you guys.’ It’s about the long term hurrah,” Dierks says. It’s about being here for them when they come back and helping them come back…So, I think Veterans Day is something that happens once a year, but I think in the country community, it really is something that we are and need to be thinking about 365 days a year because those folks need us.”

Dierks is quickly climbing the country charts with his anthemic hit, “Home,” which is from his forthcoming album due in February.

Dierks Bentley (soldiers sacrifice) OC: …folks need us. 1:37

“The one thing I think country music fans and the singers, we all really can appreciate and think a lot about is the soldiers and their families. On the most basic level, I think, for me on the road, I just think about being gone two, three days, maybe a couple of week at a time, that seems like a long time when you have kids and families, but these soldiers, they’re gone months, years at a time. They’re doing 12 to 15 to 18-month deployments, three, four deployments in, they have family back home — that in itself is such a huge sacrifice, that’s just the beginning of it, that’s just scratching the surface with what these guys are doing every day — preparing for battle, actually being in battle, being wounded in battle, sometimes dying in battle, so this country, obviously, we would not exist without those courageous men and women and our future depends on them. And I think what’s great about Veterans Day and the Wounded Warriors Project, which is something we’re working very closely with, is it’s not just about their ‘hurrah hurrah, we support  you guys.’ It’s about the long term hurrah. It’s about being here for them when they come back and helping them come back…So, I think Veterans Day is something that happens once a year, but I think in the country community, it really is something that we are and need to be thinking about 365 days a year because those folks need us.”