Photo Flash

PHOTO FLASH: Loni Anderson, Kate Linder, Loretta Swit Join World War II Vets at South Pacific in Los Angeles

Loretta Swit, Loni Anderson and Kate Linder
(© Tanya Pham/Phamtastic Images)
Loretta Swit, Loni Anderson and Kate Linder
(© Tanya Pham/Phamtastic Images)

Actresses Loni Anderson, Kate Linder, and Loretta Swit hosted a pre-performance reception for more than 50 World War II veterans and their wives at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on Saturday July 3. The veterans then saw the matinee performance of South Pacific, currently at the Ahmanson Theatre through July 17, as the guests of the late Edith Shain, the “Times Square Nurse” who passed away on June 20 at age 91.

Shain was the spokesperson for Keep the Spirit of 45, a national grassroots campaign to establish an annual day of remembrance to honor the Greatest Generation. Prior to her death, she had invited the veterans to join her for a performance of South Pacific.

The group was made up of veterans from all the military service branches who served in the Pacific and European theatres, including survivors of the battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa and the Bataan Death March.

For more information, visit www.Spiritof45.org.

Veterans of the Class of 45 group shot
(© Tanya Pham/Phamtastic Images)
Veterans of the Class of 45 group shot
(© Tanya Pham/Phamtastic Images)

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South Pacific

Closed: July 17, 2010