Billy Ray Cyrus Dedicates ‘Some Gave All’ To Nevada Teacher, Marine Corps Veteran

Billy Ray Cyrus is best known these days as Miley Cyrus’ dad. To those of us who remember the 90s, he was also known for his famous mullet and as the kind-of, sort-of country and western singer who got the whole country line dancing to arguably the worst song to come out of a musically challenged decade — “Achy Breaky Heart.” There’s no sense denying it. If you lived through the early 90s, you did the “Achy Breaky” dance (and probably “The Macarena,” too). Stop denying it.

While Billy Ray is best known for his cheesy country-rock crossover dance songs, he also had songs with staying power, notably the patriotic ballad “Some Gave All.”

Cyrus initially wrote and dedicated “Some Gave All” to a Vietnam veteran.

Billy Ray and his father — Ronald Ray — had a longstanding tradition of using “Some Gave All” to honor unsung heroes. According to an Associated Press report, the country singer said this about the tradition, which he stopped in 2006 after his father passed away:

“Just about every year, my dad and I would find an unsung hero and present them with a ‘Some Gave All’ award.”

Billy Ray decided now was a good time to bring the tradition back, during a concert outside of Lake Tahoe, Nevada. According to a report in the New York Post , Cyrus recognized the heroic sacrifice of schoolteacher and Marine Crops veteran Michael Landsberry in front of a crowd of about 1,000.

Michael Landsberry was shot and killed October 21 of last year by a 12-year-old student. The former Marine, who had served three tours in Afghanistan, was attempting to talk the armed student down, encouraging him to give up the handgun he had brought to school.

According to a Fox News report, Billy Ray Cyrus had this to say while presenting a memorial plaque to Landsberry’s family:

“Tonight we are here to honor a true American hero. Michael Landsberry made the ultimate sacrifice to save his students after serving three terms in Afghanistan.”

Regarding the continuance of the “Some Gave All” award tradition, Cyrus suggested that he had desired to honor Michael Landsberry for some time, saying:

“I kind of play everything by ear, and I thought sometime when the time is right, I would love to recognize the sacrifice Michael made.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the song and those who would just like to hear it again, here is the video for “Some Gave All”:

We join Billy Ray Cyrus in honoring a true American hero. Who would you like to see Billy Ray Cyrus give a “Some Gave All” award to?