Sons and Daughters in Touch National Memorial Day Radiothon Starts Tonight on Talk Radio Network's The Rusty Humphries Show

Sons and Daughters in Touch National Memorial Day Radiothon Starts Tonight on Talk Radio Network's The Rusty Humphries Show

Goal is to Raise $1 for Every Name on Vietnam Veterans Memorial over Holiday Weekend; Donate today at 1-800-890-SDIT or at www.sdit.org

WASHINGTON, May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Sons and Daughters In Touch National Memorial Day Radiothon starts tonight on Talk Radio Network's The Rusty Humphries Show with a goal of raising at least $1 for each of the more than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

SDIT--a national nonprofit organization comprised of nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their fathers in the Vietnam War--is joining forces with Humphries, an SDIT member whose father, Army Capt. Gary D. Humphries, was killed Jan. 29, 1969 in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam.

"Sons and Daughters In Touch asks every American this Memorial Day weekend to help us preserve the legacy of those who were killed or remain missing -- many of whom were fathers -- by contributing to this campaign that will support the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center," said Tony Cordero, SDIT founder and chairman and one of five children of Air Force Maj. William F. Cordero whose jet was lost over Laos Father's Day weekend 1965 (June 22). "SDIT's symbolic contribution to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center will ensure that the lives and the legacy of our fathers are shared with Americans today and for generations to come."

The three-hour programs will be broadcast live from the nation's capital today (9 p.m.-midnight EDT); Saturday, May 24 (8 p.m.-11 p.m. EDT); and Monday (Memorial Day), May 26 (9 p.m.-midnight EDT). Many celebrity guests and people who had prominent roles in the Vietnam War and the building of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be participating in the radiothon, including William Shatner, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), former Sen. Chuck Robb (D-Va.), former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), Lt. Col. Oliver North, USMC (Ret.), Jimmy Fortune of the Statler Brothers, Vietnam Veterans Memorial founder Jan Scruggs and Vietnam War correspondents Joe Galloway and David Lamb. For more information about The Rusty Humphries Show visit www.talktorusty.com.

Individuals and organizations can make a tax-deductible donation today through June 13 by calling 1-800-890-SDIT or by visiting the SDIT Web site at www.sdit.org. Proceeds from the radiothon will benefit SDIT and the soon-to-be built Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center to be constructed near The Wall. SDIT will present Scruggs a check from the campaign proceeds June 15 during the Father's Day Rose Remembrance Ceremony at The Wall.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center was authorized by Congress and the president in 2003 to be built underground on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. near the Vietnam Veterans and Lincoln memorials. Planned exhibits are a wall of photographs of those whose names are on The Wall, a selection of the more than 110,000 items that have been left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by family and comrades of the fallen, a timeline of key military events in the Vietnam War, rotating exhibits and a resource center where visitors can find in-depth information. One exhibit will illustrate the legacy of service demonstrated by the American people showing images of those who served in all of America's wars, from the Revolutionary War to Iraq. Groundbreaking is expected in 2010; the building should be completed 18 months later.

About Sons and Daughters In Touch

For the past 18 years, Sons and Daughters In Touch (www.sdit.org) has worked to locate, unite and provide support to the now-grown children of American servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War. In that time, more than 3,000 members have contacted veterans who served with their fathers, visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and shared their life experiences with others. More than 70 have traveled to Vietnam to meet the people their fathers fought to protect, to walk the ground their fathers tread and to visit the locations where their fathers died. Today, SDIT members take considerable pride in knowing that the loss of their fathers was not in vain.

For media inquiries, contact:
Alan Greilsamer, Communications Resources, LLC
(703) 760-7007 office / (703) 201-2508 mobile
agreilsamer@communications-resources.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

http://www.talktorusty.com/

Source: Sons and Daughters In Touch

CONTACT: Alan Greilsamer, +1-703-760-7007 office, +1-703-201-2508
mobile, agreilsamer@communications-resources.com, for Sons and Daughters In
Touch

Web Site:

http://www.sdit.org/

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