PORT ANGELES — Teresa Pierce belts out the high notes to “The Star-Spangled Banner” with the American flag draped behind her.
A strong sense of patriotism, and the memory of her late stepson, gave her the inspiration to sing the national anthem and post it on YouTube for the world to see.
Pierce, the city of Port Angeles’ spokeswoman, has entered a contest sponsored by USA Weekend and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in which participants post clips of their best renditions of the national anthem on the Internet.
15 semifinalists
A panel of judges will select a winner out of a pool of 15 semifinalists, which will be determined by the number of people who view and favorably comment on a video.
The winner gets an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a Baltimore Orioles’ game and on the national mall for Flag Day, June 14.
“To be able to sing in our nation’s capital?” Pierce pondered. “Wow.”
But it took a few months for Pierce to muster the courage to enter the contest, even though she has performed the anthem at numerous civic events in Port Angeles. Last May, she sang the national anthem at a Seattle Mariners’ game.
When she heard about the contest, she was struggling with the unexpected Jan. 14 death of her stepson, Matthew Pierce, 23, who died in an apparent accident in Port Angeles, she said.
“I consider him my son,” she said.
He was a combat veteran in the U.S. Army who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. He was a Private First Class with the Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment.
Matthew Pierce received the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service as a rifleman.
“Someone had told me about this (contest) some time ago,” Pierce said.
Because her stepson had just died, “I just didn’t have the gumption for it. But one day it just hit me. I said, ‘You know, this is something you’ve got to do.'”
Pierce said she sang “in memory of my son who served and all the people who served.”
Pierce has always been patriotic. Her father served in Korea.
But when Matthew joined the Army, patriotism and the national anthem, took on a whole new meaning.
“When you have member of your family in the service, I think it intensifies it,” she said.
With the help of her husband, Rand Pierce, Teresa filmed a rendition of the anthem known for its challenging vocal range with no warm-up.
She sang the tune in one take.
“Yeah, I should have done my hair better and put on more makeup and yes — a little bit of lipstick is always a good thing — but that’s not what mattered,” Pierce wrote in an e-mail about the experience.
“What mattered was singing the song to honor our country and to also honor the service and memory of our son PFC Matthew David Pierce.”
To view the 1-minute, 47-second clip, go to www.youtube.com and type Teresa Pierce in the search box.
April 13 deadline
The deadline to enter the contest is April 13.
“The contest has been going on since the first part of January, so I’m a little behind,” Pierce said on Friday.
While she knows she entered the contest too late to have a reasonable chance of winning, Pierce can still daydream. She has been to Washington, D.C., once before, but her husband has not.
“You have to see it once,” she said.
The grand prize includes a trip for two with airfare, three nights at a hotel, tickets and transportation to the game and $400 in spending cash.
Pierce said she was overwhelmed with patriotism when she experienced the history at the nation’s capital.
Played before every major sporting event in the U.S., SDLqThe Star-Spangled BannerSDRq became the national anthem by an act of Congress in 1931. The lyrics were written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 while detained on a ship during the shelling of Fort McHenry near Baltimore, Md. Key wrote the poem after seeing the U.S. flag still flying over the fort after the bombardment.
“It’s probably one of the toughest songs to perform,” Pierce said.
“You have to start low enough so that you can make that high note.”
Many performers add their own wrinkles to the song as it reaches its crescendo with the words: “And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air.”
Pierce keeps it simple.
“To me, I don’t think the song needs that,” she said.
“I try to be as traditional as possible.”
In all her experience singing SDLqThe Star-Spangled Banner,” Pierce said this one stands out.
“To me, this time it really felt like I was able to express my love for this country, because right or wrong, it’s mine.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
