{"id":5217,"date":"2023-05-23T17:04:57","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T17:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/national-memorial-day-concert\/?page_id=5217"},"modified":"2025-05-21T18:16:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T18:16:00","slug":"20-years-since-911","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/national-memorial-day-concert\/concert\/featured-stories\/20-years-since-911\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Phaneuf&#8217;s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div  class=\" wp-block-pbs-blocks-row no-image\">\n\n            \n    <div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-col no-image has-parallax has-aspect-ratio\" >\n        <div class=\"content\">\n\n                            \n<div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-media-card has-video\" >\n        \n                    <div class=\"responsive_embed\">\n                <div class=\"responsive_embed_inner\">\n                                        <iframe id=\"video_5235\"\n                    width=\"100%\"\n                    allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\n                            frameborder=\"0\"\n                            src=\"https:\/\/player.pbs.org\/partnerplayer\/4stRbz1jXAjDF-QKl4rmCg==\/?start=0&amp;end=0&amp;topbar=false&amp;autoplay=false&amp;muted=false&amp;endscreen=true\">\n                    <\/iframe>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                \n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-col no-image has-aspect-ratio has-blue-background-color\" style=\"background-color:#1c2838;\">\n        <div class=\"content\">\n\n                            \n<div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-content has-pdt-60 has-pdb-60 has-pdl-60 has-pdr-60\">\n    <div class=\"content\">\n                \n\n<h1 class=\"has-gold-color has-text-color has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">GOLD STAR FAMILY<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">JOE PHANEUF&#8217;S STORY<\/p>\n\n            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#a4c8ec;\" class=\" wp-block-pbs-blocks-row no-image has-light-blue-background-color\">\n\n            \n    <div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-col no-image\" >\n        <div class=\"content\">\n\n                            \n<div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-content has-pdt-60 has-pdb-60 has-pdl-60 has-pdr-60\">\n    <div class=\"content\">\n                \n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">JOE PHANEUF&#8217;S STORY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">Performed by Mary McCormack and Bailee Madison<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>2021 National Memorial Day Concert<br>underscore music from the National Symphony Orchestra<\/em><\/p>\n\n            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#e1e7ec;\" class=\" wp-block-pbs-blocks-row no-image has-light-gray-background-color\">\n\n            \n    <div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-col no-image\" >\n        <div class=\"content\">\n\n                            \n<div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-content has-pdt-60 has-pdb-60 has-pdl-60 has-pdr-60\">\n    <div class=\"content\">\n                \n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-light-gray-color\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The headline read, \u201cStaff Sergeant Joseph Edgar Phaneuf II, 38, of Eastford, Connecticut, died December 15, 2006, in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his humvee during combat operations in Operation Enduring Freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Left to grieve were his wife Michele, a son in high school and two young daughters, a tight extended family, and the entire town of Eastford, Connecticut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-light-gray-color\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-col has-image has-background-size-small has-background-top-center-position\" style=\"background-image:url('https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/national-memorial-day-concert\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Staff-Sergeant-Joseph-Edgar-Phaneuff-II-with-family-edited.jpeg');\">\n        <div class=\"content\">\n\n                            \n<div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-content\">\n    <div class=\"content\">\n                \n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:1px\">.<\/p>\n\n            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<div  class=\" wp-block-pbs-blocks-row no-image\">\n\n            \n    <div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-col no-image has-parallax has-aspect-ratio\" >\n        <div class=\"content\">\n\n                            \n<div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-media-card has-video\" >\n        \n                    <div class=\"responsive_embed\">\n                <div class=\"responsive_embed_inner\">\n                                        <iframe id=\"video_5232\"\n                    width=\"100%\"\n                    allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\n                            frameborder=\"0\"\n                            src=\"https:\/\/player.pbs.org\/partnerplayer\/ESu5a9hfMtXV1LYbR4zQjA==\/?start=0&amp;end=0&amp;topbar=false&amp;autoplay=false&amp;muted=false&amp;endscreen=true\">\n                    <\/iframe>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                \n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-col no-image has-aspect-ratio has-blue-background-color\" style=\"background-color:#1c2838;\">\n        <div class=\"content\">\n\n                            \n<div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-content has-pdt-60 has-pdb-60 has-pdl-60 has-pdr-60\">\n    <div class=\"content\">\n                \n\n<h4 class=\"has-gold-color has-text-color has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">BRIAN D&#8217;ARCY JAMES PERFORMS &#8220;YOU&#8217;LL BE IN MY HEART&#8221;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Honoring the Phaneufs, a Gold Star Family<\/p>\n\n            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#6D5F4F;\" class=\" wp-block-pbs-blocks-row no-image has-darker-brown-background-color\">\n\n            \n    <div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-col no-image\" >\n        <div class=\"content\">\n\n                            \n<div class=\"wp-block-pbs-blocks-content has-pdt-60 has-pdb-60 has-pdl-60 has-pdr-60\">\n    <div class=\"content\">\n                \n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-huge-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/national-memorial-day-concert\/concert\/past-stories\/\">Return to Past Stories<\/a><\/p>\n\n            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":6174,"menu_order":104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5217","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Joe Phaneuf&#039;s Story - National Memorial Day Concert - PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The country was embarking on the Vietnam War. 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