Carrie Underwood Honors Veterans with Troop Photo on Veterans Day

Carrie Underwood commemorated Veterans Day on Tuesday with a throwback photo of her USO tour of the Persian Gulf during the Iraq War.

The 42-year-old country star, who visited American soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait during the 2006 trip, was pictured beaming and shaking hands with one of the troops.

She herself was wearing a camouflage coat and wore her signature blonde hair in twin ponytails as she met with a group of U.S. Army men.

‘Throwing it back this Veterans Day,’ she wrote. ‘Thank you to all that have served for your courage and dedication in protecting our freedom.’ 

Underwood joined a string of celebrities who marked the patriotic holiday by remembering their own experiences meeting American soldiers.

Mark Wahlberg, 54, posted and Insta Stories photo of himself in 2018 visiting Fort Benning, which is situated in Georgia on the Alabama border.

He was wearing a baseball cap advertising his family restaurant chain Wahlburgers, which he also made sure to tag in his new Veterans Day post.

‘You know, any chance I get an opportunity to go thank our brave men and women who serve our country, I jump at the opportunity,’ he said at the time of his visit.

Wahlberg expressed gratitude for what soldiers ‘do for us, the security they provide us, the sacrifice that they make,’ to the local news station WRBL.

‘For me it’s a sacrifice to have to go and be away from my family, but I get to go home quite often and some people don’t ever go home. To risk that for our beautiful country is an amazing thing and everybody should be thanking them as often as possible.’

Matthew McConaughey shared a photo of himself with his son Levi, now 17, posing with members of the military during a football game last year at his alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, with the caption: ‘service. sacrifice. thank you.’ 

Chris Pratt lovingly shared the official military portrait of his brother Cully Pratt, who was in the U.S. Army from 1995 until 2003 and then became a sheriff’s sergeant.

‘Happy #VeteransDay to all the men and women who have worn our nation’s uniform,’ wrote the Jurassic World star, who also shared photos of himself with other troops. 

‘Special shout out to my bother Cully, and so many of my cousins and uncles, you inspire me. May we never take your service for granted. Today and every day we honor you and every Veteran!’ added Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son-in-law.

‘Every year on the 11th day of the 11th month, we celebrate all our Veterans. Thank you for your service to America,’ wrote Tom Hanks.

Adam Sandler posted an Instagram caption that read: ‘Thank you to all servicemen and women, past and present, for always keeping us protected.’ 

Luke Bryan shared a snippet of his music video for his patriotic single Country On, a 2022 single that includes a tribute to American servicemen. 

‘Today we remember and honor the brave men and women who have served to defend our freedom. Thank you for your dedication to this country. God bless y’all and Happy Veterans Day,’ wrote the American Idol Judge. 

Everybody Loves Raymond star Patricia Heaton posted photos of her father, sportscaster Chuck Heaton, when he was in the U.S. Army in World War II.

‘Happy Veterans Day to all who are serving and have served. My dad sure did make a handsome soldier,’ wrote the sitcom actress, whose father served in Germany and was awarded a Bronze Star. 

Julianne Moore posted a photo of her father Peter Moore Smith, a U.S. Army paratrooper in the Vietnam War and then became a military judge.

‘To my father – and all of our veterans. Thank you for your sacrifices and your service,’ wrote the Still Alice star, who was herself born on Fort Bragg and had a peripatetic childhood that took her as far as West Germany.

Moore’s post was flooded with comments about how ‘handsome’ her father was, with one enthusiastic fan going as far as to exclaim: ‘Hubba hubba!’