Concert for Valor or for Acts?

I couldn't watch the Concert for Valor last night because I don't have HBO and was not about to pay for it on demand so that I could watch it. Pretty sad when you think that this was supposed to be for veterans but most were not able to watch it. Then again, after hearing about this, maybe it was a good thing they didn't get to see it. It let many veterans wondering if this concert was for them or for the stars.
METALLICA - The Concert for Valor

Eminem and Rihanna - Live at The Concert for Valor 2014 (Full Performance HD)
Bruce Springsteen Promised Land
Dave Grohl
Zac Brown Band – Free [Official Video]
(Beautiful!)
And the rest of the story from Stars and Stripes

Concert for Valor: Massive show shines spotlight on veterans' issues
Stars and Stripes
By Heath Druzin
Published: November 12, 2014

WASHINGTON — Thousands of troops and veterans gathered in the capital Tuesday night for a mega-concert in honor of Veterans Day, with servicemembers and performers sharing the same message: The spirit of the Concert for Valor must endure long after the music fades away.

A roar swept across The National Mall as acts such as Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Eminem and Metallica took to the stage for hundreds of thousands of revelers, with troops and veterans up front in a special section close to the stage.

The concert was organized by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who recently co-wrote a book “For Love of Country,” which highlights the economic benefits returning veterans can bring to the country. It comes as hundreds of thousands of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan transition to civilian life and a national health care scandal has engulfed the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Army 2nd Lt. Maggie Smith, who attended with her husband and daughter, hopes it's the beginning of a better understanding that veterans are not charity cases — they are ready to step into leadership positions in civilian life.

"We're kind of trying to change the narrative about veterans," she said.
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Famous last words since they actually did change the narrative for a lot of veterans very unhappy this day after being wished "Happy M-F Veterans Day" and they can't figure out what they were thinking with some of the stuff they just let happen. Young kids hearing swearing? Vietnam veterans having to listen to Fortunate Son? Were they thinking about veterans or not?

This could have been a wonderful thing to give to veterans on their day but why the hell did it have to come with a boatload of things that upset them?

UPDATE
Here is a for all our veterans. This one is from last year when Gary Sinise did a tribute to Vietnam and all veterans at the Disney Candlelight Concert

Starbucks CEO Laments Sales on Veterans Day Instead of Honor

Starbucks CEO: Veterans Day ‘has been turned into a weekend sale’
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
November 10, 2014

The CEO of Starbucks Coffee Company criticized the way America treats its veterans on Monday, saying that Veterans Day “has been turned into a weekend sale,” and more needs to be done to understand the military experience.

“That’s not respectful for me,” said Howard Schultz, speaking at an event for veterans at The Washington Post.

Schultz appeared along with Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert A. McDonald, Washington Post journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran and some veterans to discuss how those who serve can continue to contribute to America after they take off the uniform for the final time. There’s a business case to hire veterans into corporate jobs, Schultz said, citing the “authentic leadership” they bring. But it has to be ingrained in the hiring practices of companies, he added.

The panel discussion, “Leading the Way,” is one of several events planned in the nation’s capital this week in conjunction with Veterans Day on Tuesday. Notably, Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood, Eminem, Metallica, Rihanna, the Black Keys, Dave Grohl and other entertainers will combine Tuesday night to put on The Concert for Valor on the National Mall. The event — outlined here — is sponsored by Starbucks, HBO and Chase, and will air on HBO at 7 p.m.
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HBO Veteran's Day Concert Featuring Bruce Springstreen, Rihanna, Eminem, Jennifer Hudson Could Draw Record Crowd
TV
By Ira Teinowitz
November 8, 2014

Washington D.C. braces for as many as 850,000 attendees at The Concert for Valor at the National Mall on Tuesday

HBO is pulling out all the stops for Tuesday's Veteran's Day National Mall concert which could be its biggest ever live event.

The concert will feature Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Rihanna, The Black Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Meryl Steep, Jack Black and Bryan Cranston.

Fencing, which is normally used for inaugurations and Fourth of July celebrations, has been erected around the mall and Washington D.C.'s transit system has unveiled special plans to handle expected high attendance.
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Starbucks CEO Schultz PTSD Advocate

A Cup of G.I. Joe
New York Times
Maureen Dowd
NOV. 1, 2014

Howard Schultz, the chief executive of Starbucks, center, in May with leaders from the Third Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort Benning in Georgia. Credit Courtesy of 75th Ranger Regiment, U.S. Army

WHEN I close my eyes, I can easily flash back to a time when it was cool to call people in uniform “pigs” and “baby killers.”

If you had any family members in the police or military in the Vietnam era, you know how searing that was.

Now we give our veterans respect, early boarding at airports and standing ovations at ballgames. Yet it’s becoming clear that it’s not enough.

With no draft and fewer than 1 percent volunteering to serve, most Americans have no personal connection to anyone who went to Iraq or Afghanistan. There’s a schism between the warriors and the people they were fighting for.

Instead of ticker-tape parades, the veterans returned to find Americans in a crouch, wishing they could forget the military adventures of the last decade. Hollywood was turning out movies showcasing heroic veterans, but they were from World War II. And scandals scarred Walter Reed and an ill-prepared Department of Veterans Affairs.

“The government does a very good job of sending people to war,” Howard Schultz, the C.E.O. of Starbucks, told me in New York this past week, “and a very poor job of bringing them home.”

He has organized a Concert for Valor on the Mall on Veterans Day, featuring stars from Bruce Springsteen to Eminem to Rihanna, a way to celebrate soldiers and urge the public to get involved with veterans’ groups vetted by Gates and Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The free concert, put on by Starbucks, HBO and JPMorgan Chase, will be shown live on HBO, even for those without subscriptions.
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