Sometimes people think I bite off more than I can chew. When it came to last weeks schedule I wasn't sure if those people were right or not. I did in fact make it through the week and I can honestly say I am a better man for it. The week was one of the most humbling weeks of my life.

MONDAY; AUGUST 13

I had the honor of performing, for the 13th time, at Hines Veterans Hospital. My "Forgotten Heroes" partner and Vietnam Veteran (and my personal hero) Bob Kolling and I put together 4-days of entertainment in the Extended Care Ward. Monday, I entertained those brave men who have "paid the price and cashed the check," for American freedom.

It has gotten to the point where I know most of them by face and a lot of them by name. Air Force veteran Frank, joined me on stage as we sang "All I Have To Do Is Dream."  Frank used to play 1st trumpet with the Air Force band and still has music running through his veins.

Marine gunny Eric Jazak, his father Jim and brother Ryan, took the trip to Chicago from Milwaukee on their Harley's, to attend the show. Eric and Ryan are huge contributors to this blog and Eric, just back from his second tour in Iraq, wanted to be there for all the forgotten heroes. The veterans just loved him.

TUESDAY; AUGUST 14

Denise Brigham stepped up and entertained the Vet's and brought smiles to everyone who attended the show. I'm sure her pretty face, long blonde, curly hair and sexy voice had a lot to do with it.

What I loved about Denise's show, is during her opening number, she walked through the crowd and shook hands with every single veteran attending. She had them from "hello." Afterward, she signed photo's for the vet's and today they all have those photo's hanging in their rooms. The next day the vet's were asking Bob and I when Denise would be returning. Denise vowed to help us anytime we asked!

WEDNESDAY: AUGUST 15

Jimmy Nightclub brought his sparkling personality, wit and tremendous talent to Hines. Jimmy; (Rode) a former Chicago Policeman and golf pro, took a day off from the "links"  at his summer home in Williams Bay, Wisconsin and drove to Heins to entertain.

As he sang Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me" for his opening number, he had toes tapping, fingers snapping and smiles from the front row to the back of the room.

During portions of his show, I had to strain to hear Jimmy over the voices of the vets who sang with him.

THURSDAY; AUGUST 16

Because of a birthday party at Hines VA, I had a day off. However, Thursday was "payback" day. Some of you may remember I promised Eric Jazak a Geno's East pizza and a pitcher of beer when he returned from Iraq. Eric, his brother and sister-in-law Ryan and Karla, his parents Jim and Sandy and his beautiful girlfriend Dana came to Chicago for lunch. To make lunch even better, and with the Jazak's being huge Cheap Trick fans, my buddy, fellow patriot and former Cheap Trick bassist Jonathan Brant drove in from Rockford to join us for lunch.

The pizza was awesome, the beer flowed and Eric's stories are incredible. In kind of a weird way, my heart sunk as they all drove off on their Harley's after a 3 1/2 hour lunch. I really love this family. As a very kind act to the Jazak's, Jon split the bill with me, and because Eric is currently serving his country, Geno's East gave us a discount! I love this country.

Thursday Night; I headed downtown to Chicago with my buddy and Marine Father, Jim VanNatta to perform at the "Marine For Life" function at  Dick's Last Resort. I was deeply touched as Marine's who served with my late cousin Ryan J. Cantafio (KIA Baghdad, 11/04) came up to me to introduce themselves and shared a few memories of Ryan.

The benefactors of the evenings event were Gold Star parents, Roy and Georgette Frank. A lot of money was raised for their "Heart of a Marine Foundation." Although I was only scheduled to perform two numbers (Brave Warrior and American Soldier) my good friends "JP and the CATS" were there, so JP called me up to sing the last few numbers with his band.

FRIDAY; AUGUST 17

Jonathan Brant's in-laws Jim and Silvia Bender entertained at Hines VA Friday afternoon. Silvia plays piano and Jim sings his heart out. The engagement was near to Jim's heart. Jim is a decorated Korean War Veteran. He's a Marine and one of the famous "Chosen Few."

Jon told me they were a bit nervous all week and rehearsed a few times daily, but they were "spot on" at showtime. Jim and Silvia's "WWII Medley" had every man and woman in the room singing. Jim even told a few jokes.

Their last number, "The Lords Prayer" brought down the house, and few vet's rose from their wheelchairs to sing the last few notes with Jim.

SATURDAY; AUGUST 18

I headed up to Great Lakes Navy Base to perform at the "Change Of Command" ceremony for Col. Curt Ames. The entire Marine family came to Great Lake to send off Col. Ames properly.

I personally enjoyed the very end of the day when Roy Frank and I got to share a few minutes together, eating chicken and cheese, and sharing a few "band" stories. Roy is still playing drums professionally. He is looking forward to seeing our new drum-kit next Saturday (Augurst 25th, 4:00 PM) in Skokie, Illinois.

I came home last night and just "vegged" in front of the TV. I can't even remember what I watched, but hundreds of images raced through my head. I thought about Vito, Mac and Mariano the three Vet's who posed with Gunny Jazak's for a photo. The gunny gave me three copies of the photo on Thursday and I presented those photo's to them on Friday at Heins. They we just thrilled.

I thought about the poor Vet who just screams all day long. I asked Becky, one of the great nurses at Heins, about the poor man. Becky told me that he has been at Heins since January 1942. He was a sailor at Pearl Harbor and never mentally recovered.

Then there's the vet who sang with the Vienna Boy Choir as a child. His family fled Austria because of Hitler and years later, he came back as a soldier in the US Army and helped liberate the Vienna Boy Choir.

One of the most touching things that happened to me was meeting one of the great Philippino Guerilla Fighters from WWII. When he told me he served under Mac Arthur and walked the Bataan Death March, I told him about my cousin Joe Felucca, a WWII vet who was on the same march. It turned out this man served with Joe in the same Japanese prison for 4-years and knew him. I remember the horrible stories Joe used to tell us when we were children and now, I was standing in front of one of the heroes who shared the same nightmare with my late cousin for four years.

Bob and I are planning to be back at Hines VA with more entertainment, December 3 - 7 and again in February. The Jazak's and Army SGT Allison Kitzerow are helping us get up to Zablocki VA Hospital in Milwaukee, WI.

Bob and I sure could use some help with funding, if you are interested, visit us at;
www.USAForgottenHeroes.com. We are trying to purchase our own PA system and some pipe and drape for the entertainers.

God bless America and God bless our great Veterans. If you can read, thank a teacher, if you read English, thank a veteran.