America the Beautiful: A Celebration of Freedom and Service

[Music] Hi, I'm Victoria. Happy July 4th and welcome to America the Beautiful Festival Special Access 2025. Happy birthday, US Army. We are here in Port Jervis, New York for the next two days to celebrate this amazing country and Army's 250th birthday. We're going to be watching some amazing live performances. I really cannot wait. So, I'm ready. I hope you are, too. Let's get inside. At this time, if you're able, please rise. Gentlemen, remove your hats. We have the color guard for United States Military Academy at West Point. They're going to bring our colors on stage. He's a United States Army. Let's hear for him. Come on, stage. [Applause] And I am so humbled, proud, and honored to introduce this next guest. Over 29 years of service with the United States Army, Sergeant Major Mary Kay Messenger. What better way to kick off than the national anthem. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we held at the twilight's last gleaming. Fools brought stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight. Or the ramp parts we watched were so gallently streaming. And the rockets red glare above bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh say that star spangled b way or the land of the free and the home of the brave. I couldn't wait to speak to Sergeant Major Mary Kay Messenger. I was the premier vocalist for the United States Military Academy band based out of West Point, New York. It's an active duty unit. Our main mission is to go into the tri-state area and uh to bring music and uh more of public relations for the United States Military Academy and the United States Army. Happy birthday. 250th birthday today. And what for you is so special about the Army? Obviously, you served in it for so many years. What made you decide to sing for the Army? Actually, it was when I was 12 years old. I was asked to sing. It was back in 1980. And I did one of their big summer end of the year summer concerts doing a medley of Annie that was on Broadway at the time. And that went into singing for them every year at some event. And at 29 years old, after I auditioned down Broadway and trying to do things, I was asked to see if I'd be interested in creating a vocal position for the concert band because I never had a full-time vocalist. And I had the choice to stay. And I said, "Okay, I'll stay for three more than three more three well ended up staying for 29 one month and 21 days, but who's counting?" And it it's been wonderful the the amazing opportunities that I had because I was in uniform and representing who I represented the Army and the United States Military Academy that I was able to, you know, sing for the World Series, the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, Carnegie Hall. I mean, I I was a classically trained singer, so Carnegie Hall practice, practice, practice. I had the opportunity with the bsentennial for West Point to sing at Carnegie Hall. And that's amazing. I mean, we had so many amazing places and and and people and veterans. They're they're actually the backbone of what we do what we do are our heroes who protected our freedoms. So, you you can touch one person or you can reach millions of people and send a message and that's what we do. Thank you. I'll let you prepare. There's no reason dare to ever say you're sorry cuz I regret the little things that I've become. I'm here with the brilliant country band, The Pool Horseman. Guys, you are fantastic out there. That was uh that's quite the uh quite the introduction there. We appreciate it. But yeah, we're having a great time. It's a lot of fun. What is it about country music that you guys love? Uh there's an honesty and simplicity to it that's really appealing to me. It's one of the only American musics that I feel is left and uh and it's a great tradition and uh we we just love playing it. So baseball, apple pie, and country music, [Music] [Applause] [Music] highly decorated General Bulldock gives us a powerful speech. Well, God bless you all. Thank you for coming here today. It's an honor for me to be here. And today is Flag Day. And the flag has inspired the United States Army since 1775 to go into battle and to serve our nation with honor and respect and to do this in the name of freedom and justice and liberty and life and for the prosperity of those who believe in God, family, community, and country. Those four pillars have driven my life and I know they drive many other lives in America. General Bulldo told me why Flag Day means so much to him. My 10 tours in Afghanistan and as a division level commander in in Africa, you know, I lost a total of 72 service members um that I sent to, you know, conduct missions. Um, and that is something that always stays with me for the uh for the rest of my life. It's why this flag day is so important to me because in many cases the last time I was able to say something to them is when we put the flag on their casket and put them on a plane and flew them home to their family. And so that is always something that um that I think about and it's a greatness in this country that uh we can never allow ourselves to forget are those that are willing to put their lives on the line for our freedoms and the freedoms of others. I know that now you do work with veterans, is that right? And their families. Can you just briefly tell us a bit about what you do? Sure. I'm really focused on the mental health aspect of things, post-traumatic stress, the mental and physical injuries that our service members have and what they struggle through. Particularly involved with service dogs and making sure that if our veterans need a partner, there's no better partner than a service dog. Right. I often say if dogs ran, the world would be a better place. You're going to be cutting the army's 250th birthday cake. That's what I've been told. And I understand that it might not be a knife you're using. What is your weapon of choice today? And he's got a saber. As they say in the army, when we're going into battle, the officer leads as it should be. First one out of the aircraft, first one on the ground, last one to leave. We say, "Follow me." If I got to go home to good friends, strong faith, big dreams, if that's all I ever need. So, I'm here with Sophie Tish. We're on a ferris wheel together. Yeah. It's so fun. This is the craziest interview I've ever done. That's amazing. So, uh, you're honestly I loved your performance today. You are so talented and I know you're quite young, right? How old are you? I'm 19. Oh my goodness me. Yes, I'm a little baby. How long have you been singing for? Um, since I was 13, I started taking voice lessons. Oh, wow. And when was the moment where you knew that was what you wanted to do with your life? So, it's so funny because when I was younger, I would just sing like random songs that I would make up in my head. So, I've always been a singer. It's always been a thing of mine, but when my voice coach when I went to my first lesson with my voice coach, she said, "So, what do you want to do here? You just want to learn how to sing or do you want to be like the next Carrie Underwood?" And I was like, "That would be pretty cool, please." So, that's how that all happened. And then she just took me under her wing from there. And yeah, we made it happen. What What would you say that the characteristic of America? What is it about? It's about family. It's everybody's family, everybody's community. Like, if somebody gets pushed down, everybody's going to help them back up. You know what I mean? Yeah. I hear they're supposed to be delicious Oreo uh deep fried Oreos. Have you tried them yet? Uh not here. I've tried them once before, and I think Oreos are my favorite cookie. So, they're right there. We can see them. We can see them. Get those deep fried Oreos. We would like some deep fried Oreos, please. All right. Are we going to try it here? Let's try it. Cheers. Cheers. That's so good. That is so good. Thank you. Thank you. The deep fried Oreos got me thinking, what other treats could I get my hands on? Egg tarts. Can't wait to eat those. We sell the traditional Chinese stuff which is tonghulu. Tong hulu. It's really popular right now, you know. Yeah, you're American. It's really tasty. It's so good. I think this is what America is all about. [Music] I was having so much fun at the festival, but seeing so much patriotism, I couldn't help but wonder who was behind this event. There's a real deep inner meaning about this festival and why you're here and what you guys are doing. Can you tell me a bit about the story behind it? Sure. The head organizer, Jinpang, she's fled uh from communist China. Her mom was actually arrested for six years for practicing fallen gong, a peaceful meditation practice, and was subject to really horrible things, torture, forced labor. When Jyn came out here for her masters, when she would go ask for signatures to help petition to get her mom out, she was very touched by the American spirit. And she found all these people that didn't know her, strangers. they were willing to not just sign the petition, but they kept asking, "What else can we do to help you and help your mom get out of prison?" And she always remembered that she felt that that's really what makes America so special was that this uh there was this spirit of giving and wanting to help others. And so, fast forward to a few years later, she had her master's degree and she moved to this area. And when she became part of the local community, she really wanted to give back. And so three years ago she approached me and she said we want to do this at the time I think it was called I love America festival and so uh we worked on the the name of the festival a bit came up with America the beautiful obviously there's the song but interestingly America in Chinese is me which is a beautiful land and so it's interesting so actually America the beautiful is uh the translation from Chinese really the festival started from the spirit spirit of wanting to give back to the heroes of America. They're willing to sacrifice their lives and we can never repay that. However, through this festival, we can say thank you. It was a touching story, but I wanted to find out how other people felt about the festival. I'm a military officer. I'm a commander, United States Navy. I spent a lot of time overseas. The United States is really a beacon of freedom across the world, and we want to make sure we continue that. So, it's great to have all these families out, a very diverse crowd of all different walks of life, all different ages enjoying, you know, their freedom. It's great stuff and it's amazing. Some of the Cajun food is awesome. Popcorn to snacks to the beverages to all ethnic foods. I I just I just grazed for the past several days. What's my favorite food? Um, sesame chicken. Very American. Can you each tell me what your favorite thing is about America? Um, just the ability to be free, freedom of speech, and yeah, very much what she said, like being able to do what you want. That diversity of food, the food and drinks. Definitely. This is what, year three. I think it has gotten bigger and better every year. You have a extreme diversity of food here and adding the carnival this year even makes it better. Gives something for the little kids. Speaking of kids, these young singers sung their patriotic hearts out forever [Music] way of praise for purple mountain. [Applause] A miracle. A miracle. God is grad. [Music] How do you feel about being here at America the Beautiful Festival? Good time. You know, it was Father's Day, so it was kind of a double win for me, but my band got to play. I'm surrounded by patriots and American flags. I mean, could it get any better? I don't know if it could, to be honest. I've had such a blast. I'm having fun. Wow. What have you got here? Thanks. Awesome thing. And did you win those things or did daddy win those things for you? My daddy win them for me. And how great is your dad? So great. Seeing all the children, I couldn't help but want to play some carnival games myself. Luckily enough for me, Cafe Anderson, one of the country's top independent patriotic artists, was brave enough to take me on. Oh, it's not working. Are you kidding? What is happening? [Music] Really? I'm sorry. I I I don't know what to say. Well, listen. You see that? You see that? The English the English won this time. Whatever. Whatever. Whatever. Oh, Ky, I love your music. It's amazing. Thank you so much. What what you started in year? Uh singing in church. Started in church every Sunday, singing to church and singing in the choir and then going to school and singing and then just realized that I had a talent. I had a gift. I want to go with it. It has been amazing. I mean now I I understand is it two billion streams special white move. Yeah. M has two billion streams collectively all over. It's been used by hundreds of thousands of videos. People coming home from deployments to surprise their families. Um the song has really been very very special. I'm honored to have written it to sing it and it never gets old to me. Never get old. I absolutely love that song as well. And you've written a lot of patriotic music. What inspires you to do that? Um, I think my dad served in the United States Air Force and I have a lot of friends that have served as well. And I think being part of a milit the military family and the service families, I think we get what pride is about, what hard work is about. There's not a lot of racism because you only fight for three colors, red, white, blue. Takes everybody to do that. So I think that there's a special DNA that goes in the people that serve our country. also bravery, also selflessness in a lot of ways. So I just write from what I know. I don't know anything else. I think just writing from that perspective of being the son of an airless veteran and and lobbing our country, that's not perfect in any form, but I've been all over the world and I still love United States. Well, thank you so much. Let's be I'm so happy that you're here and I I had a little bit too much fun with cafe. So now I couldn't help but find myself riding a pink elephant with singer songwriter Katie Mantic. I Katie, you decided on the pink one, right? I had my heart set on the pink one since last night and I've been dreaming about it. Your dreams have come true. I didn't I couldn't help myself. I even played Hooking Ducks with Taylor Reese. Oh, you got it. You can do it. You got it. Oh, no. There you go. There we go. Oh no, I dropped it. No, you're going to try it again. Try it again. Okay, one last go. Let's do it. Do I have to do it over here? Here we go. Ready? There. Yes, we got it. We got it. We're winners. Holding a microphone, too. You're a winner, too. What can I say? Yeah, we're winners. Look at that. We're winners. I know that you've been singing from a very young age. Oh, yeah. Since birth, but professionally, basically popped out singing, you know. Um, and then professionally since I was about nine. Yeah. For the land of the free and the home of the brave, [Music] I know that you served in the Navy. How does it feel as a veteran to perform at a festival like this, this sort of event? Well, my whole mission with music started as a continuation of service. So, Dave Bray, USA, music on a mission. Those two are synonymous. So, it's one of those things where I wanted to take the the the skills and some of the blessings that God had given to me through music, my songwriting, and my love of country, my love of God, my love of this amazing nation of people. I wanted to put something out there that was going to make everyone proud and bring people together because I think we need more of that in this country right now. This song's called Freedom Rings, Blood of Heroes. I wrote it for all those gold star families out there. For all those families who no longer have their their father or their son or their mother or their daughters. So this one's called Freedom Rings Blood of Heroes. [Music] For every soul from every war cross the seas run our shore forever fold of our flag. From coffins lit to widows lap for every daughter and every son. The price was paid for everyone. So remember them, cherish their names. Cuz your freedom rings for every soul from every war. Cross the seas. Run our shore. For every fold of our flag, from the coffin's lid to the widow's lap, for every daughter, every son. The price was paid for everyone. So remember them, cherish their names. Jackal Your freedom rings. You got a patriotic bone in your body, take out your phone right now. What's up, baby? How you doing? It's the good sun. It's the glory. 100 stripes, 100 stories. It's the pledge of allegiance on the 4th of July. It's some handwritten letters from home. It's some sleepless nights alone. It's his newborn baby he left with his wife. Sing it if you know it. Mr. Red, white, and blue. Lay down his light. Mr. Red, white, and blue. for these stars is tri [Applause] from the fields of Indiana to the swamps of Louisiana. From here in Fort Jervis out to California. Uncle Sam's the only family he's got. His purple heart made all stop and his 18th birthday was the day he was born. Mr. Real [Applause] [Music] M [Music] [Applause] [Music] Baby, [Music] [Applause] [Music] why is America so beautiful? What is it that you love about America? How much time do you have? No. Uh, I'd say everything. The freedom that we have and the people that the the men and women that protect it. It's a very safe place. is the greatest country in the world, a land of opportunity. I'm always thrilled to be able to celebrate America. There's never a bad day to celebrate America. And I appreciate the opportunity to talk about these things that are very near and dear to my heart. It's only at events like this that we can do that, right? And we need to do more of them because it brings people together. And as I said earlier, what's the most beautiful and best part of America? The people. Come on, sing it. run away. You know, people have different political values, but it's good to see everybody together here. I'm proud to be an American, and I know we have our freedoms because of what they did. And you can't ever forget that. [Music]