Country musicians, celebrities sign to help veterans.

Dozens of celebrities and entertainers attending the 42nd Academy of Country Music Awards May 14 lent their support to disabled veterans and their families by autographing a guitar to support the DAV.

Participation backstage at the awards in the Distinctive Assets Gift Lounge, and donation of the guitar, was coordinated by DAV's corporate partner Clarity, a division of Plantronics, and The EAR Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and improving lives for people who suffer from hearing loss. Following the event, the guitar was donated to the DAV.

The guitar will travel with the DAV Airshow Outreach Program and be auctioned to support services, programs and initiatives for injured troops who return from Iraq and Afghanistan and all generations of veterans.

The first to sign the guitar were musicians Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry of Montgomery & Gentry. Their hit song "Something to Be Proud Of" references "Flyin' F-15s through hostile air."

"We've been to Afghanistan, and we want to go to Iraq. Whenever we get a chance to thank these young men and women, we do it. And that's especially true for the folks who've been hurt out there," said Montgomery. "They're my heroes. And if we can help out, we're going to be the first in line."

After writing a big "Hell Yeah" on the center of the guitar before the awards ceremonies, others joined in.

"We've always wanted our music to have a positive effect on people's lives and we try to take every opportunity to help people," said Brad Mates, vocalist for the band Emerson Drive. At the event, Mates and his fellow band members were enjoying a rise to the top with their song "Moments." The song reached number one on the country charts.

According to Mates, the song's co-author, Sam Tate, is a military veteran. The song references homelessness and "that plane ride coming home from the war." The inspiration for the song, Mates said, was Tate's transition to civilian life following combat in Vietnam.

But not every celebrity who attended the event autographed the guitar. Famed ZZ Top guitarist Billy F Gibbons refused, citing that simply touching an acoustic guitar was "bad luck." Instead, the legendary rock-and-roller vowed to autograph a custom-made electric guitar--commissioned from his personal line--and donate it to the DAV.

Gibbons said he had recently spent two days visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He said that was one of the more profound experiences in his life.

"Country music artists are a patriotic group of people. The donations we receive from this effort will help us further our mission, and the connections we've made will be a tremendous boost for future outreach initiatives," said National Adjutant Arthur H. Wilson.