Trace Adkins to Host SALUTE TO SERVICE Veterans Day Special on PBS

This November, PBS will premiere SALUTE TO SERVICE 2025: A VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION, featuring multi-platinum entertainer and TV/film actor Trace Adkins alongside the US Army Field Band.

In addition to Adkins, this latest installment of the annual celebration features performances by opera superstar Angel Blue, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, as well as profiles of veterans from across the nation and across the generations. SALUTE TO SERVICE 2025: A VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION will premiere Monday, November 10, 2025, 9:00-10:00 p.m. on PBS.

SALUTE TO SERVICE will feature numerous stories of service members, including World War II veteran John Gleeson, who served in the Army Air Corps and still flies planes TODAY at age 101, The Corley brothers, triplets who followed their father’s lead into the Army along with their mother, who enlisted a year after they joined the service, and Tracey Hunter of Beyond the Call, an organization dedicated to preserving the stories of WWII vets and taking them to reunions on some of the battlefields where they served.

Additionally, Special Forces veterans at the Warrior Mission Ranch in Colorado will be spotlighted, and a visit to the Library of Congress will highlight the Veterans History Project, which collects and preserves the firsthand recollections of US military veterans for future generations.

Musical highlights include renditions of “God Bless America” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” with Angel Blue and the US Army Field Band. Kurt Elling joins the US Army Jazz Ambassadors for standards “I Like the Sunrise” and “Long as You’re Living,” and country superstar Trace Adkins will perform his hits “Still a Soldier” and “Somewhere In America” alongside the Six String Soldiers.

“It was such a high honor to be asked to be involved with SALUTE TO SERVICE,” says Adkins. “Getting to speak in-depth with these heroes who have served our country for generations and selflessly fought for our freedom is an experience that I’ll never forget. Also getting to sing my songs ‘Still a Soldier’ and ‘Somewhere In America’ with the U.S. Army Field Band brought even greater meaning and valor to the lyrics. I’m so proud to be part of this and love to support our troops as much as I can.”

SALUTE TO SERVICE 2025: A VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION will stream simultaneously with broadcast and be available on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app, which is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.

SALUTE TO SERVICE 2025: A VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION is produced by Snap Snap Productions and directed by Habib Azar. It is written by Master Sgt. Pamela Daniels, Master Sgt. Lauren Urquhart and Sgt. 1st Class Courtney Martin.

Photo Credit: PBS