New Berlin, Wis. –-(Ammoland.com)- To honor and recognize U.S. servicemen and women who work, play and protect the citizens of America and world, Sportsman Channel is creating a programming initiative focusing on key U.S. holidays and special events that celebrate the country’s freedom and independent lifestyle – Sportsman Channel’s Salute to Service.
On November 11 from 12-7 p.m. ET/PT, the military-themed offering of the Salute to Service initiative will be an all-day programming schedule – Sportsman Channel’s Veterans Day Salute sponsored by Bravo Company. During this special day, every program will have a connection to the military. Selected shows will feature field adventures with veteran or current active military personnel and NRANEWS Cam & Co will air live from the NRA Shooting Range in Fairfax, VA at 5 p.m. ET and feature special guest Lt. Colonel Oliver North.
Hosted by Larry Vickers, who has spent more than 20 years in the U.S. Army, and most recently in Delta Force, Sportsman Channel’s Veterans Day Salute will pay tribute to all veterans, as well as those who died for freedom throughout America’s history.
“The military men and women who have served our great country are engrained in the fabric of our everyday lives,” said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President, Programming & Production of Sportsman Channel. “Sportsman Channel’s desire to reflect this is one way in which we hope to call attention and connect all Americans with its military heroes and history.”
Additionally on Veterans Day, the network will air “soldier salutes” – courtesy of the Department of Defense – from active military serving throughout the world. From ex-Marine Craig Boddington traveling to the Yucatan Jungle on Boddington Experience to Gordon Whittington sharing a touching story of a sargeant’s recovery on North American Whitetail, Sportsman Channel’s Veterans Day Salute is focused on recognizing and connecting with the men and women serving today, as well as those who have served.
In 1954, when November 11 was officially named Veterans Day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called upon all United States citizens to join hands in a common purpose – “to solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom.”
Sportsman Channel’s Veterans Day Salute airs on November 11 from 12-7 p.m. ET/PT. Program details follow:
- · 12 p.m. – Western Hunter TV: Western Hunter Magazine Publisher, Chris Denham, joins disabled U.S. military veterans in British Columbia on a spot-and-stalk black bear hunt.
- · 12:30 p.m. – Long Range Pursuit: Gunwerks’ gunners Kregg Thomassen and Garrett Wall travel to the Peacemaker National Training Center in West Virginia to assist with a shooting competition for wounded veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
- · 1 p.m. – Boddington Experience: Join Ex-Marine Craig Boddington in Southern Mexico’s Yucatan Jungle for encounters with coati mundi, white-lipped peccary, and the elusive brocket deer.
- · 1:30 p.m. – Big Deer TV: Mike Hanback returns to the hills of his historic home state of Virginia, where he hunts with old friends and a new friend, who is a true American hero. Filled with camaraderie and love of country, this episode is a powerful and emotional quest for a big buck.
- · 2 p.m. – Huntin’ with Honor: Meet the ‘HWH’ team as they head into the turkey woods on Ft. Knox with a few heroes from the Army’s First Infantry Division.
- · 2:30 p.m. – Brotherhood Outdoors: Leroy Shull, a retired IBEW electrical worker who founded “Fishing for Freedom” to give wounded heroes a chance to enjoy bass fishing, gets the chance of a lifetime as Brotherhood Outdoors honors his service with a trip to the Florida Keys to experience deep sea fishing for the first time. The excitement begins when the lines go tight.
- · 3 p.m. – Trailing the Hunter’s Moon: Larry Weishuhn is joined by several true American heroes at Trinity Oak’s 2013 Celebration of Heroes. Larry and several “wounded warriors” hunt elusive nilgai antelope in Texas’ famed Brush Country.
- · 3:30 p.m. – Drake’s Migration Nation: J. Paul teams up with the Retrieving Freedom organization to hunt with a wounded veteran and his special hunting partner. They travel to the Arkansas prairie where the timing is perfect for early-season mallards.
- · 4 p.m. – North American Whitetail: Gordon Whittington takes National Guard Sgt. Jon French to chase South Texas trophy bucks. This is an especially moving show as Sgt. French tells the story of how the outdoors is part of his rehabilitation process after overcoming serious wounds from a firefight in Afghanistan.
- · 4:30 p.m. – Smith and Wesson’s Outdoor Guide: U.S. Army veteran and Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe throws a pigeon shoot.
- · 5 p.m. – NRANEWS Cam & Co: A special live one-hour program with host Cam Edwards sitting down with newsmakers, Sportsman Channel personalities and veterans in a very special Veterans Day program that will include special guest Lt. Colonel Oliver North.
- · 6 p.m. – TAC-TV: Larry Vickers spends time with veterans of various service branches and eras and talks with them about their service and what it means to them today. They also will discuss the small arms they carried in combat and training during their service.
- · 6:30 p.m. – Trijicon’s the Hunt: Come along as Scott Haugen and special guest, wounded veteran Orlando Gill, team up for a black bear hunt amid Idaho’s breathtaking Joseph Plains.
Along with Veterans Day, Sportsman Channel’s Salute to Service initiative also includes Memorial Day and July 4th. Other Sportsman Channel programming will include a Gary Sinise-produced documentary – High Flight – that will make its exclusive world television premiere on Sportsman Channel in 2014. The documentary follows Sinise’s experience training and flying to 70,000 feet in a U-2 Dragon Lady High-Altitude Reconnaissance spy plane at the USAF Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB. Sinise, a veterans’ rights activist, as well as award-winning actor, is the spokesman for Sportsman Channel’s Salute to Service initiative.
Join the Twitter conversation @SPORTSMANchnl and let your voice be heard by using #SCVETSALUTE.
About Sportsman Channel: Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel, and Sportsman HD, advocates the outdoor lifestyle as the only television and digital media company fully devoted to celebrating a lifestyle that is truly American. The network delivers entertaining and educational programming focused exclusively on the hunting, fishing and shooting lifestyle. Sportsman Channel reaches more than 32 million U.S. television households. Stay connected to Sportsman Channel online at www.thesportsmanchannel.com; Facebook, (facebook.com/sportsmanchannel