Country music legend Merle Haggard was in a
jovial mood Thursday as he greeted people backstage at the Redding Convention
Center.
After all, he was going to sing with a few of his favorite Americans:
veterans.
"The sheriff handcuffed me this morning, brought me down here and
said I had to sing with some veterinarians," Haggard joked as Shasta
County Sheriff Jim Pope walked by. "Then I got here and found out he
was talking about vets, and I was really proud."
The 67-year-old Haggard's surprise appearance brought feelings of
warmth and pride to the hundreds of American Legion members assembled
for their state convention's opening ceremonies.
Haggard joined eight World War II, Korea and Vietnam veterans to sing
Whitmore-area resident Neil Tocher's song, "Freedom is Never Free,"
then sang one of his own with the refrain, "Where's All This Freedom
That We're Fighting For?"
The performance kicked off the Legion's fifth convention in Redding
and first since 1998. About 2,500 delegates and others are expected
to attend the convention's meetings and awards ceremonies through Sunday.
Haggard came at the invitation of Tocher, 77, a World War II veteran
and friend of the singer for the past decade. Tocher, who wrote his
song to commemorate the new National World War II Memorial in Washington,
D.C., will sing it with Haggard at a Roswell, New Mexico, concert July
3.
"He is really appreciative and really thankful for all the servicemen,
including the ones over in Iraq right now," Tocher said of Haggard,
who lives in Palo Cedro. "He's a big fan of those people and he's written
a number of songs that are pretty patriotic."
Word of Haggard's presence sent a buzz through the crowd moments before
the 1 p.m. ceremony. Vietnam-era veteran Eric Measles, 54, fished with
Haggard on the Kern River years ago and slipped backstage for a reunion
with the singer.
"He's always been a patriot and he's just always been a solid citizen,"
said Measles, a former Redding resident who lives in Southern California.
"He's still one of my favorite country and western artists."
While many veterans were excited to see and hear Haggard, the singer
was equally thrilled to have the company of those who served his country.
"I've always been one that noticed the fact that America seems to
forget them so frequently," Haggard said.
