Princess
Cruises’ first-ever cruise to support U.S. veterans will feature a
number of special guests including former chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen (Ret.); retired senior
officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force; an award-winning war
correspondent; and other respected speakers, authors and panelists.
The
groundbreaking sailing will raise funds for two respected veterans’
organizations – Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Inc. and Operation
Homefront Inc. The voyage is expected to generate $1 million for the
two charities.
Princess
President and CEO Alan Buckelew, a Vietnam veteran himself, will be
on board to host the cruise. He will be joined by special
guests Admiral Mullen, former Army Chief of StaffGeneral
George Casey (Ret.), former Air Force Chief of Staff General
Norton Schwartz(Ret.), and former Chief of Naval
Operations Admiral Gary Roughead (Ret.), who will
each host military branch gatherings throughout the voyage. The
senior officers’ wives, Deborah Mullen, Sheila Casey, Suzie
Schwartz and Ellen Roughead will take part in a panel discussion
centered on the lives of military families and the changing roles and
challenges of spouses before, during and after deployment.
In
addition, guest lecturers on the cruise will include:
- Award-winning journalist and decorated combat correspondent Joe Galloway. He is one of America’s premier war and foreign news reporters. A former military affairs consultant for Knight-Ridder newspapers and co-author of We Were Soldiers Once and Young, Galloway reported for UPI during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Bronze Star for carrying wounded soldiers to safety during the 1965 Battle of la Drang. General Norman Schwarzkopf called Galloway “…the finest combat correspondent of our generation.”
- Speaker and veterans’ advocate Justin Constantine. Constantine joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1998 after graduating from law school. He left active duty in 2004, but two years later, as a Marine Reservist, volunteered for deployment to Iraq. While on a routine patrol, he was seriously wounded – shot in the head by a sniper. Thanks to the heroic efforts of a young Navy Corpsman and his own warrior spirit, Constantine is alive today and is a highly sought-after speaker and veteran’s advocate, spreading a message of awareness, courage and resiliency.
- The soldier who sent the message ending World War II in Europe, Gregory Melikian. As a young sergeant with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces staff headquartered in France in 1945, Melikian was a telegraph operator under command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. At 3:30 p.m. on May 7, 1945, it was Melikian who was chosen to announce the unconditional surrender of Germany and the end of WWII in Europe.
The
Western Caribbean cruise will sail November 5-9, 2013 roundtrip from
Houston aboardCaribbean
Princess, with
a call at Progreso, Mexico. The four-day
cruise will
offer passengers the opportunity to honor those who have served in
the military as well as active duty military personnel. In addition
to the line-up of incredible military guests and speakers, there will
be special performers, celebrities, unique topic panels and a
military film festival. Princess will custom-design onboard
activities such as a Stars and Stripes Sailaway, a military themed
show, a Red, White and Blue Gala, game shows, trivia quizzes and more
– to celebrate US veterans.
Source:
Princess Cruises
