I've sent this information in an email to some family and friends, but I was so moved by this performance, I thought in honor of this day and our remembrance of 9/11, I'd post it here.

Hi,

I happened to be flipping through channels looking for hurricane "Ike" info
and just happened to stumble on to the September 11th Pentagon Memorial
Dedication on C-SPAN. What caused me to linger, was this beautiful
rendition of "American Anthem". I've heard this song performed before by a
Norah Jones, a modern pop singer, but I didn't care for her rendition. I
thought this was absolutely beautiful and inspiring and wanted to pass it on
to you. They may run this ceremony again on C-SPAN later today, but I can't
tell from the schedule listings, if they will or when. The sound is not as
good on the PC as it is on the TV, so I'd recommend you use headphones if
you don't have really good speakers on your PC. You may need a plugin named
"Adobe Flash Player" to view this video. If you don't already have it, you
should be prompted to install it on you computer. Once you're ready to play
the video, unless you want to see the whole program, drag the "slider" till
it shows a time of 01:20:11. This is where Ms. Dell'Omo's performance
begins.

Please pass this on, as we need more of these inspiring and patriotic
messages for our country. By the way, please note she's one of our Texas
girls.

Jim Martin

Performance of "American Anthem" by Marine Staff Sergeant Sara Dell'Omo and
U.S. Air Force Band
Sept. 11, 2008
on C-SPAN
Ceremony
September 11 Pentagon Memorial Dedication
Department of Defense
White House Travel, DC Event
Arlington, Virginia (United States)
ID: 281042 - 09/11/2008

Click on the link below:

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=281042-1&clipStart=4800&clipStop=9998

The song begins at 01:20:11 to 01:24:06

Staff Sergeant Sara Dell'Omo

Mezzo-soprano vocalist and concert moderator Staff Sergeant Sara Dell'Omo
joined "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in May 2005, becoming
the first featured female vocal soloist in the Marine Band's 206-year
history. SSgt Dell'Omo began her musical career on piano at age 9 and voice
at age 16. After graduating from Jacksonville High School in 1997, she
attended the University of North Texas in Denton and earned a bachelor's in
vocal performance in 2001. She currently is pursuing a master's degree from
George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Her most notable teachers include
Lydia Reavis of Tyler, Texas, Cody Garner of the University of North Texas,
and Patricia Miller of George Mason University.

Prior to joining "The President's Own," SSgt Dell'Omo was a member of the
U.S. Army Band's Army Chorale at Fort Myer in Arlington, Va.