Gary Morris to Perform at 50th Anniversary of MCAS Rose Garden Marine Event
The country music and Broadway legend will perform at the four-day Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Rose Garden 50th Anniversary in Arlington, VA.
Gary Morris will welcome guests and perform at the Kick-off Breakfast on Friday, May 20. The musician and actor will again take to the stage for the Banquet Reception Sunday, May 22 to help close the event. Full details on Gary’s performances are below.
Event: Kick-off Breakfast
Date: Friday, May 20
Time: 7:30AM
Location: Hilton Hotel Crystal City, Arlington, VA
Address: 2399 Richmond Highway
Arlington, Virginia, 22202, USA
Event: Banquet Reception
Date: Sunday, May 20
Time: 5:00PM
Location: Hilton Hotel Crystal City, Arlington, VA
Address: 2399 Richmond Highway
Arlington, Virginia, 22202, USA
“I am incredibly honored to be a part of this event to remember these brave Marines that stared down adversity and overcame the tremendous obstacles during such uncertain times,” Morris expressed. “What they were able to accomplish in the jungle of Thailand was nothing short of a miracle and stands as a testament to the character of our armed forces.”
The event will commemorate the efforts of Marines stationed in Nam Phong, Thailand to establish a secret airbase by overcoming immense odds. Inspired by Lynn Anderson’s hit Rose Garden, MCAS Rose Garden ultimately became the most successful air base operation in Southeast Asia.
Gary and the aforementioned country icon Lynn Anderson recorded and released Your Welcome to Tonight on Lynn’s 1983 album Back. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard charts in 1984.
About MCAS Rose Garden:
In July of 1971, there were less than 500 Marines in Vietnam. In the spring of 1972, the North Vietnamese launched a full-scale invasion into South Vietnam and that triggered the re-entry of Marines back into combat.
A special organization labeled Task Force Delta was formed in May of 1972 and given the classified mission of constructing and operating a secret air combat base hidden deep in the Thailand jungle approximately 300 miles SW of Hanoi, North Vietnam.
The location chosen was an old post World War II airstrip that was being used as an Army special forces training facility. There was nothing there but jungle, extreme heat, humidity and red clay. The base was desolate. There was no fresh water and everyone survived on C-rations for the first thirty days until a primitive field mess could be set up. In the beginning, there was no power, no bathroom facilities, no barracks, no chapel, no comforts of any kind.
Marines along with members of the Navy’s Seabee Battalion 5 worked 12-16 hours a day and slept in six-man tents. But within five weeks, 17 June 1972, Task Force Delta had constructed a fully functional air base and combat operations commenced with Marine F-4 Phantoms of VMFA-115 and VMFA-232 and A-6A intruders from VMA(AW) 533 flying combat sorties into Laos and North Vietnam. After a few months, a chapel, mess hall, semi-permanent hard back tents, field showers and outhouses were constructed.
The first team consisted of 377 Marines from Da Nang, South Vietnam and Iwakuni, Japan, 94 US Navy Seabees, 60 Airmen and 91 civilians. The base borrowed its nickname, Rose Garden, from the popular song: “Rose Garden” by country music artist Lynn Anderson. This was due to the base being deep in the remote jungle of Thailand and the extremely harsh conditions in which the Marines had to work.
When the war ended and the final colors were lowered at Nam Phong on 21 Sept. 1973, Task Force Delta had racked up an impressive combat sortie rate. VMFA-115 and VMFA-232, the F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers, had the highest sortie rates of any land-based F-4 units in Southeast Asia.
The base in Nam Phong Thailand has the distinction of being the last combat outpost to close the Vietnam War.
About Gary Morris
Gary Morris is known world-wide for his vocal mastery, able to hold audiences mesmerized and overwhelmed by the pure beauty and inspiration of his voice. His recording career garnered five #1 and 16 Top 10 singles, including “Why Lady Why,” “The Love She Found in Me” and “Baby Bye Bye.” Morris’ original rendition of the classic “Wind Beneath My Wings” won both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music “Song of the Year” awards. Morris was also named Billboard’s “Male Artist of the Year” early in his career. At the height of his Nashville recording career, the Texas-bred tenor was tapped to play the lead role of Jean Valjean in Broadway’s epic hit “Les Misérables,” to critical acclaim. This role led to a Drama Desk Award nomination. His famous rendition of “Bring Him Home” on the platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning international cast album resulted in a Command Performance by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Additional Broadway roles include Rodolfo in the production of Puccini’s opera “La Bohéme.”
Morris’ love of the great outdoors, combined with his respect and compassion for veterans, has resulted in his affiliation with Fly Fishers International and its Abilene Fly Fishers club. Gary’s passion for wounded veterans also motivated him to make his Mountain Spirit Ranch a place where veterans suffering from PTSD can experience the therapeutic properties of the serene sport of fly fishing to treat PTSD and other combat-related conditions. Morris has hunted on all seven continents. He also hosted a TV show on The Nashville Network called North American Sportsman, which ran for five seasons and featured many celebrity guests including Bryant Gumbel and Troy Aikman.
Gary Morris launched country music’s first individual artist Roku channel loaded with content for new and old fans alike in 2021. Fans can access tons of exclusive content on Roku at “Gary Morris World.” The channel features music videos, concert footage, episodes of his original series “North American Sportsman” and more.
Whether he is melting hearts with this voice and music, amazing New York City critics with his acting, using his outdoor experience to teach others respect for the environment, or using his gifts to help our wounded service men and women through a difficult time in their lives, there is no doubt Gary Morris is impacting the world with his gifts and passion.
Morris’ most recent album is “Sense of Pride.”
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