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Toby Keith sings “American Soldier” to Surprise a Military Wife

by
  • Ryden is a Junior Country Music Journalist at Country Thang Daily, specializing in data analysis and trends within the genre.
  • Before joining Country Thang Daily, Ryden wrote for top music publications and interviewed icons like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.
  • Ryden has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Middle Tennessee State University, with a minor in Data Analytics.

Toby Keith invited a military’s wife up on stage during a concert at Houston, Texas on September 8, 2012. It was an act that surprised the wife who didn’t have an idea that his husband, Major Pete Cruz, was back in the country, back in her arms – finally reunited.

Keith, Out of his Way for the Surprise

Toby Keith
Image from Toby Keith’s Official Facebook Page

Before he sang American Soldier, Keith expressed his gratitude towards all the men in uniform through a toast with a Red Solo Cup.As the crowd went wild he asked,

  “Has anyone here tonight got a soldier, a Marine overseas that you love and honor?”

Then, he selected a woman from the audience to join him up the stage. She identified herself as the wife of Major Pete Cruz who was stationed in Afghanistan.

The Heart-Warming Reunion

toby keith
Photo Credit: Army Capt. Michael Greenberger

Keith started to sing and let the military wife sing with her. Towards the chorus, the wife started to get teary-eyed, perhaps because of the pride and gratitude towards his husband. As the song came to end, the guitarist played the national anthem and her husband surprised her by delivering Toby his star-spangled-banner guitar.

Watch their heartwarming reunion video here:

Toby Keith is one of the Patriotic Americans among the country singers. He is known for his enormous number of USO Tours to entertain our men in uniform.  It is no secret that Keith’s father was in service which highly influenced his love for all the men who serve the country. Among his patriotic songs that also topped charts are “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” and “Made in America.” At present, the official music video of “American Soldier” has hit over 42 million views.

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