Memorial Day Concert Honors Sacrifice（2/2）

"And I was speaking the words of these four men talking about what it was like to look for the bodies of their sons in the rubble. Behind me, the Washington SymphonyOrchestra is playing Mozart's Requiem."

Many families also display flags on their homes, and some take time to visit a veterans' cemetery. Since 1990, some have made the annual concert a part of their Memorial Day weekend.

The concert has a serious purpose, but it is also a celebration. There is lively entertainment from Broadway hits to jazz and country music.

Mantegna says it brings together people with divergent viewpoints - "red" voters, that is, Republicans, and "blue" voters, or Democrats - in a musical celebration that transcends politics.

"I don't care what a person's political feelings are, I have my own, and everyone is entitled to their own. But this is not about that. And it shouldn't be confused in thinking that this is either a red concert or a blue concert. It's a red, white and blue concert."

The concert has a special segment" class="hjdict" word="segment" target=_blank>segment with a theme changes each year. This year's will focus on the many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who have survived the war, but must now cope with traumatic injuries.