KISS Frontman Gene Simmons Gives Emotional Speech During Ceremony at Pentagon

“I have immense respect and admiration for Gene and his Mom. She went through hell and understood what it really meant to become an American. Too bad 99.9% of Hollywood doesn’t.

Via Breitbart

Gene Simmons, bassist and co-lead singer for the rock band KISS, made news when he visited the Pentagon on Thursday as part of an initiative to connect the American public to the United States military.

But it was his emotional remarks about what America meant to him and his late mother that were remarkable.

“I’m a proud son of a concentration camp survivor of Nazi Germany. My mother was 14 when she was in the camps. I’m measuring my words because I’m about to break up again –,” he said, striking the podium.

“My mother just passed at 93. But if Americans could see and hear my mother talk about America, they would understand,” he said.

He shared what it was like when he first came to America as a child from Israel, not speaking a lot of English. He said his mother worked six days a week, and in the evenings, they would watch the news together.

By midnight, the three or four TV stations at that time would go off the air. But before then, they would watch a jet fly through the sky and melt into an image of the American flag. The national anthem would play, he said.

“And every time my mother saw the flag, she’d start crying,” he said. “As an eight-year-old boy, I didn’t understand why, but from my mother’s point of view, we were finally safe,” he said, choking up.

“I may have been born in the country that people throughout history have referred to as the Promised Land, but take my word for it — America is the Promised Land, for everybody. And don’t be ashamed, don’t hesitate.
“We need to teach young people to be comfortable with saying God bless America,” he said. “End of my story.”

Simmons’ visit to the Pentagon transpired months ago. A Pentagon civilian employee met Simmons backstage at a show and invited him to visit the Pentagon if he was in the area. Simmons took him up on that offer….

The #KnowYourMil initiative was launched in February 2018, amid growing concern that the U.S. military was becoming increasingly disconnected from the public it serves, which affects future recruitment and the sustainment of an all-volunteer military force.

According to a fact sheet, fewer than half of 1% of Americans serve in the military, and fewer than 15% of young adults have a parent who has served. In addition, less than 30% of 17 to 24-year-olds are eligible for military service.

More and more, military service has become a family affair, with 80% of those in uniform today having had a family member serve in the U.S. military.

Joiner said the #KnowYourMil initiative is about “connecting Americans to their military.”

“We want to create conversations that bring civilian and military communities together,” she said.

Gene Simmons is always a pleasure to see. His appreciation for the freedom and opportunity this country offers is confirmation that there’s still a percentage of entertainers, albeit small, that actually get it.

There’s always a fundamental disconnect when you try to explain patriotism, service, and love of country to liberals; they always project their own motivations onto those who serve in the military. They can’t understand things like Duty, Honor, Country, following the example of others who served, and giving something back to the nation that’s given so much to every one of us. It takes guts and dedication that a relative fraction of the population will ever know. While most of America takes a pass, only a few raise the right hand.

The Left has a long-standing visceral hatred of the military, and believe me, the feelings are mutual.

Bless Gene Simmons.”