VIDEO: Gene Hires Vet as Rodie on TODAY Show
(msnbc.com) Back in March, NBC News teamed up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
to launch Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative to get veterans back into
the workforce. Among the many organizations to step forward and pledge
to hire vets and military spouses was the rock back KISS.KISS's job opening was for a roadie to work their upcoming summer tour with Motley Crue, and more than 1,900 hopefuls applied. And this morning on the plaza, The Demon himself, Gene Simmons was on hand to give veteran Paul Jordan a big surprise: He had been chosen to the new KISS roadie!
Paul has logged in over 27 years of military service, and served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has had even more service as a veteran in the KISS Army (with a tattoo of Simmons to prove it), having been a rabid fan of the band since he was 4. So when Simmons told him on-air that the coveted job was his, Paul was ecstatic – particularly since he'd been looking for work for a year and a half.
"Since I retired, I've had a really hard time trying to find a find a job," Paul told the TODAY anchors. "It's tough for veterans out there sometimes." He called the KISS roadie job a "dream come true. I've always wanted to be involved with KISS somehow ... This is incredible!"
Simmons, whose reality series "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" is starting a new season, said that hiring veterans "is the most important thing that we can do," and warned: "If you don't give him a round of applause right now, I'm going to find out where you live."
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