Reprinted from Country Aircheck, a trade publication for the radio industry:
Remembering 9/11: At some point this weekend, all Americans will take a moment to reflect on the events of 9/11. The memories of that horrific day remain painful for many, but vivid for us all. On that day and in the decade since, Country radio and Country music has served to inform, unite and remember. Through the words of our on-air people and the lyrics of our artists, radio has been there.
For Country radio in particular, it has been far more than words. Dozens of personalities were embedded with troops overseas in the early days of the ensuing war, visiting soldiers and bearing gifts and messages from home. Countless men and women in the military have had their minds taken off their duties in Iraq and Afghanistan, if only briefly, while being entertained by so many Country artists who have put themselves in harm's way.
Alan Jackson, whose words we reprint at the bottom of this page, Toby Keith, Darryl Worley, Charlie Daniels, Radney Foster and so many others, have moved and inspired us, and continue to do so with the songs Country radio plays. "Where Were You," "American Soldier" and "Everyday Angel," never fail to put a lump in your throat.
Country unabashedly waves the flag like no other format. As Brad Paisley writes in "This Is Country Music," "And if there's anyone that still has pride and the memory of those that died defending the old red, white and blue/This is Country Music, and we do."
Darryl Worley and Wynn Varble wrote, "Have you forgotten how you felt that day?/To see your homeland under fire/And her people blown away/Have you forgotten when those towers fell?/We had neighbors still inside going through a living hell/And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden/Have you forgotten?"
