Wayne Newton, Gary Sinise, Neal McCoy and Lewis Dix, Jr., to Perform at Sendoff for Troops at Camp Shelby, Miss.

Wayne Newton, Gary Sinise, Neal McCoy and Lewis Dix, Jr., to Perform at Sendoff for Troops at Camp Shelby, Miss.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Soldiers of the 155th Brigade Combat Team and their families and friends will be treated to a USO show at Camp Shelby, Miss., Dec. 21, featuring Wayne Newton, actor Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band, country music performer Neal McCoy and comedian Lewis Dix, Jr. The entertainers will perform on the eve of the brigade's formal departure ceremony to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USO )

Newton has entertained troops on nine USO tours in the past three years and was recently honored with the prestigious "Spirit of the USO" award for his life of dedication and his service to military personnel around the globe. Newton has participated in two USO tours this year and entertained troops on the USO's first tour to Iraq in 2003.

Actor, director and producer Gary Sinise recently completed his eighth USO tour, which took him to North Carolina to entertain troops at Camp Lejeune. Over the past year Sinise has visited troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, Italy, Korea and various locations in the United States. Following a USO tour to Iraq, during which he visited with Iraqi school children, Sinise co-founded Operation Iraqi Children, which provides educational materials to students in Iraq through the generosity of the American people.

Award-winning country music star Neal McCoy also is a USO tour veteran and a strong supporter of service men and women. He accompanied Wayne Newton on a tour to Iraq and Kuwait in October. Comic Lewis Dix, Jr., has appeared at numerous comedy clubs and special events around the world. The USO tour veteran also has several television appearances to his credit including "Girlfriends," "Roseanne" and "Mad TV."

For more than 63 years, the USO (United Service Organizations) has brought a touch of home to America's military personnel. The USO is a congressionally chartered, nonprofit organization and is not a government agency. The USO is supported by World Partners Avon Products, Inc., AAHOA, AT&T, BAE SYSTEMS, Bass Pro Shops, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Clear Channel Worldwide, Coca-Cola, Computer Systems Center, Inc., ESPN, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., Lockheed Martin, Morgan Stanley, Ray-Ban, Reader's Digest, Sara Lee, S & K Sales Company, True.com, Ty Inc., USAA Foundation and The Walt Disney Company. Other corporate donors, including Walgreens and the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-0600), have joined thousands of individual donors to support the USO. For more information on the USO, please visit our Web site at http://www.uso.org/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: USO

CONTACT: Erica Stone of USO, +1-703-908-6471, estone@uso.org, or First
U.S. Army Public Affairs, +1-404-469-7326, Richard.Steele@first.army.mil

Web site: http://www.uso.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Media interested in covering the event should contact the Camp Shelby Public Affairs Office at +1-601-558-2835.

-------
Profile: intent