JOE MANTEGNA who stars in CRIMINAL MINDS, will co-host the National Memorial Day Concert live on Sunday. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS. ©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Memorial Day weekend is kicking off and, believe it or not, the holiday is not just about barbeques. Memorial Day is actually set aside to remember the soldiers who have died while in service to the nation. And one of the bigger celebrations is the National Memorial Day Concert, which will be aired live on PBS Sunday.

Joe Mantegna has been involved in the event since 2002, first as a performer and since 2005 as co-host with fellow actor Gary Sinise. And this year, Taryn Davis, founder of the American Widow Project, will join the hosts. Davis lost her husband Michael three years ago while he was stationed in Iraq.

She started the foundation to support surviving spouses – who had given her comfort after her loss.

“A little less than a month after Michael was killed it hit me everyone was going to go back to their jobs, while here I was at 21 really just trying to figure out what the meaning of life was, Davis recalls. “I found the deepest connection with widows who had felt the deepest of love and the deepest of tragedy, who were getting up each day and breathing for some reason. People who were able to heel me the most were my fellow military widows.”

For both Mantegna and Davis, Memorial Day has a special meaning – and the actor tells HollywoodOutbreak.com it has nothing to do with politics, but rather appreciation.

“I’d walk away from this in a second if I thought there was any kind of a political agenda involved,” Mantegna explains. “This isn’t about being political, it’s about being an American - who were are collectively and who we are as a nation. The fact that we have the freedom to have political choices and all those freedoms that we have.”

Other celebs scheduled to perform include, Lionel Richie, Brad Paisley, Dennis Haysbert, Katherine Jenkins, Kelli O’Hara, Yolanda Adams, Colin L. Powell and The National Symphony Orchestra.

PBS will broadcast the live event Sunday, May 30th, 8:00 p.m. ET.