Jo Dee Messina delivered a heartfelt performance during a National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C., a tradition that started over three decades ago in 1989. The event featured a host of musical guests, actors, and notable personalities, including Trace Adkins, Megan Hilty, Joe Mantegna, Mary McCormack, and Gary Sinise, among others.
Jo Dee performed “If Heaven Was Needing A Hero,” a song from her 2010 album, Unmistakable Inspiration. She wrote this poignant ballad after the passing of the first female American soldier in the Iraqi War. Since then, the song has been played in memory of many soldiers who lost their lives in battle.
As she sang dressed in black and silver, her appearance was one of elegance, respect, and somberness, honoring America’s military heroes. Film clips and photographs accompanying her performance narrated stories of loss, grief, service, and sacrifice. Scenes showed caskets being loaded into hearses, cemetery stones with birth dates of those too young to have been lost, anguished children and wives, and American flags folded and passed to surviving parents or draped over a hero’s final resting place.
The Bible reminds us in John 15:13 (NIV), “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The soldiers we remember on Memorial Day exemplified this greatest form of love, as did our Savior, Jesus Christ, when He laid down His life for all of humanity.
In the video, the audience, many with teary eyes, were visibly moved by Jo Dee’s lyrics and the familiar feelings they conveyed. Images of soldiers from past generations, survivors paying tribute on battlefields and beaches, and elderly veterans weeping for their long-lost brothers filled the screen. One veteran was seen kissing a war memorial, while another ran an aged hand over a wall of names, showcasing the unique bonds formed among soldiers.
Jo Dee has faced her trials, including a cancer diagnosis in 2017 and subsequent treatment. A tattoo on her right arm appears to be a scripture reference, Psalms 3:16, with a perpendicular line forming a cross. She has shared that a front porch visit from Jesus Christ saved her, highlighting the importance of faith in overcoming life’s challenges.
In times of heartache and pain, it is a blessing to have found Jesus Christ first. As David said in 2 Samuel 23:1 (NIV), “These are the last words of David: ‘The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s songs.'” Let us find inspiration in the strength and faith of others and honor the memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Watch the video below.
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