KISS guitarist is featured in a new interview with A Timely Perspective. An excerpt is available below:

Q: KISS is a big supporter of veterans and the military; is there one message you would like to get out to people about this.

Tommy Thayer: “It is important to remember the amazing people who fought for our country. Their stories of heroism and the things they did for America are inspirational. We live pretty safe secure, nice lives and young people have not really experienced the adversity that our parents and their parents experienced, so understanding where we come from as a country and what people have done to get us here, the sacrifices they have made to make this the country we have today is all important.“

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Forbes.com recently reported that on February 18th in Portland, Oregon, KISS gave a surprise performance at the close of a gala fundraiser event, where legendary rockers such as Alice Cooper, Robby Krieger of the Doors, Danny Seraphine from the band, Chicago, and Will Lee from The Late Show with David Letterman, among others, also performed. The exclusive “All-Star Salute to the Oregon Military” event raised $1.4 million toward completing the construction of the $20 million Oregon Military Museum named after KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer's father, Brigadier General James B. Thayer. To help raise funds, Tommy Thayer joined forces with Zenith Swiss watch brand to create a special commemorative watch and a small, limited edition collection.

“Obviously, this is important to me on a personal level because my father is involved,” said Tommy Thayer in a private interview, “but it is important, too, for people to remember and commemorate the amazing people and their stories of heroism. The things they did for our country are inspirational and help us understand where we came from, what helped make us, as a country.”

Similarly, KISS rocker Gene Simmons also has a personal connection, in that his mother and her family were held in a concentration camp believed to have been a part of the network of camps that Thayer infiltrated. You can read more about that story here.

“Gene’s mother’s life was spared at the age of 14, but what she went through makes this effort even more personal for all of us in the band,” says Tommy Thayer. “The band as it is today, all of us are very close and very supportive of each other’s charitable and philanthropic efforts, and especially this one. We have supported the military and the veterans throughout our tours in various ways.”

Read the complete article here.