PHOTO GALLERY KING PLEDGES TO RAISE $150k FOR DIVISION MEMORIAL
June 13, 2006
MSgt. Manny Perez
386th ESVS / SVMR
APO AE 09855
Dear MSgt. Perez,
I know, from our previous involvement with the 101st Airborne that putting together a boxing event in the middle of the desert, in the middle of summer, and in the middle of continuing conflict, is an arduous job to say the least. Congratulations on tackling the job! Your reward will be priceless. You will see it in the smiles, laughter and enjoyment of your fellow soldiers, who deserve any and every type of morale boosting event that can be provided for them.
I'm glad that you reached out to our friend Karl Freitag at FightNews.com and that in turn he contacted us. I hope that you will share pictures with him and thereby the rest of the boxing community. I would also ask that you send some of your photos to me so I can post them on my website www.DonKing.com
Please let your fellow soldiers and commanders know that they remain in our hearts and prayers. We are so proud of the jobs that they are doing, and we thank them for continuing to fight for and defend the freedoms that we hold so dear
.Don King Forum
Warmest best wishes,
Don King
President & CEO
Don King Productions, Inc.
Friends from the Middle East from MSgt Manny Perez
Hello Ilona,
Thought I'd send you some pictures from us here in the desert. The one with the small group holding the banner is the original members, the other one with us in the ring is the new members.
We had our second fight night last night, had 13 matches, it was great, over 1000 people showed up to watch and the fights were very entertaining. These young men and ladies have a lot of heart and desire, the temperature was over 110 and had been around 120+ throughout the day. These folks worked 12-14 hours and still had enough to come out and fight.I'm glad to say our team, won 12 out of the 13 matches, the other one was so close, it was in the hands of the judges.
Well got to run, thought you might be interested in us over here, as we proudly display that banner last night, a reminder of the great support Mr. King as given not only to us, but, all the military as a whole. God bless you and all there at DK
Friend from the Middle-East
Manny Perez, MSgt, USAF
Don King’s History of Patriotism
Don King has supported our military and first responders (police and fire personnel) long before it became fashionable, i.e., post 9/11. Besides providing thousands of event tickets for distribution to military bases and station houses in the cities where events are held, he also provides a live feed to the Armed Forces Network which broadcasts boxing events to our soldiers serving overseas. From aircraft carriers to desert bases to military hospitals, he continues to share a slice of home with those who defend our freedom.
Several years ago Mr. King received an e-mail from SSGT Franklin Eldridge who was serving in Mosul, Iraq. SSGT Eldridge asked if he could send a few items to be used during their planned morale-boosting boxing smoker. That simple request blossomed into an incredible relationship. Don King sent boxes of gloves, trophies, shirts, hats, water bottles, etc. to Iraq. When he saw that the boxers were using astro turf on the floor of their ring and sheets of foam secured by duct tape in the corners of the ring, he sent a ring mat and corner posts.
Little did he know that by fulfilling that simple request, he would make history and become involved with the mighty Screaming Eagles of the 101 Airborne Division. On November 12, 2003, in addition to hosting several members and their families in Atlantic City (they had returned for their two week R & R rotation), he televised a two-way live broadcast with Major General David Petraeus in Iraq. Family members in the United States were able to see their loved ones as they watched and enjoyed the boxing event in Mosul, Iraq.
When the 101st returned from their first tour in Iraq, Don King was invited to attend the “Week of the Eagles” Celebration at Ft. Campbell. During his visit, he attended the dedication of the Ft. Campbell Monument honoring the illustrious history of this group. Subsequently, he found out that the monument could not be presented in its entirety as the Airborne Association had run out of funds. Their plans called for four life-size bronze statues to be installed on top of the monument, each one depicting a conflict from a particular era. Immediately upon hearing this, Don King pledged the funds to complete the project. The statues will be installed and formally dedicated upon the return of the members of the 101st from Iraq.
Recently, Don King was invited to visit our injured soldiers that were hospitalized Landstuhl, Germany. Don King’s most recent involvement with the troops came as a response to a request received by MSgt Manny Perez in Baghdad.
Don King continues his dedication to those who defend the freedoms that we hold dear, and sometimes take for granted, both at home and while on foreign soil.
Don King visits patients, staff at Landstuhl. Boxing promoter says he wants to stage fights in Iraq
By Scott Schonauer, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, September 29, 2005
LANDSTUHL, Germany - Illustrious boxing promoter Don King and a cadre of his champion fighters want to stage a boxing exhibition in Iraq to entertain the troops.
King mentioned the idea during a visit this week to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to sign autographs and shake hands with hospital staff members and wounded servicemembers from Iraq and Afghanistan.
As he walked the halls carrying two American flags and wearing a denim jacket emblazoned with his picture and his popular catch phrase “Only in America,” he talked about how he wanted to go to Iraq.
His son, Carl King, who also is a boxing promoter and who came with his father to Landstuhl, said many of the details, including the date and who would make the trip, are being discussed.
His father visited airmen at Ramstein Air Base before heading to the hospital to cheer up patients. The boxing icon is in Germany to promote a fight between World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Champion Lamon Brewster against Luan Krasniqi in Hamburg. Sam Simon, co-creator of “The Simpsons” and now Brewster’s manager, accompanied King and drew Bart Simpson sketches for many of the patients.
Brewster had also planned to come along, but could not make it and hopes to visit servicemembers in the area after the fight.
Moments after King walked through the hospital’s main entrance, his booming laugh and shouts of “Only in America!” brought out doctors, nurses and patients who wanted to see a glimpse of the promoter.
Army Sgt. Cacey Williams, nursing her injuries from Iraq, couldn’t believe her eyes when the boisterous King walked into her room.
“What are you doing up in here?” she said, smiling.
“Coming to see you [and] your fine self,” he said. “I just came to say, ‘I love you.’ Yes, I do. You represent us, girl. You’re the reason we can be free and we can talk trash on the corner.”
He visited more than a dozen patients before posing for pictures in the hospital dining facility. Never short for words, including those he makes up on the spot, King delivered several one-liners as he walked from ward to ward.
After stopping to talk to a Marine injured in Iraq, King remarked, “Both of us have survived bombs. I did one; you did one. Where was you at? Fallujah? Yeah, I was in Cleveland.”
