A 98-year-old veteran U.S. Marine from Fort Worth will perform God Bless America before Sunday's NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Track officials say Cpl. Don Graves, a Fort Worth resident who is "one of a very special group of living American heroes who made the successful assault on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II" will sing the song before the nationally televised race.
"The opportunity to sing God Bless America to a national TV audience is a rare treat and I am so thrilled to be able to do it," said Graves. "It is a great honor."
Graves sang "God Bless America" earlier this year during a Memorial Day service at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth
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The speedway said Graves is the son of a U.S. Marine and tried to join the corps immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, but they said he was too young.
The Detroit native ended up joining the day after he turned 17 and was trained as a flame thrower. His first combat assignment was the initial attack on Iwo Jima beginning Feb. 19, 1945.
According to organizers, Graves "was one of only 18 of the 335 men of his Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Division to survive the successful 36-day assault forever memorialized by the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Joe Rosenthal of the Stars and Stripes being raised atop Mount Suribachi."
After being honorably discharged, Graves spent more than three decades as a preacher.
Mark Faber, TMS executive vice president and general manager, visited Graves at his Fort Worth home on June 22 and extended the invitation for him to sing before the race.
"All of us at Texas Motor Speedway are honored to welcome a true American hero like Don Graves to sing God Bless America prior to the start of the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400," said Faber. "We will celebrate Mr. Graves for his valiant service to his country as a U.S. Marine in World War II as well as his 32 years of service to his church and parishioners. He is a hero to us all."
