Gretchen Wilson and daughter Grace welcome sailors and Marines home from overseas duty - and get a private shipboard tour.

Gretchen Wilson has visited countless American military bases over the years, but her Aug. 21 trip to the Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Va., proved something special.  With her 8-year-old daughter, Grace by her side, Gretchen was privileged to welcome home more than 300 Navy sailors and Marines from overseas duty and get a personal tour of the majestic ship the USS Oak Hill.

"They were in South America working with allied forces there," Gretchen explains.  "I think they had been gone about three months.  We watched one of the men walk off the ship and see his little baby for the first time, so you kind of felt that emotion with everyone."

Gretchen was playing a show at the base later that day and was merely expecting to be a spectator as the men and women arrived.  But a little surprise was in store for her.

"I got to do the customary 'first hug' and the 'first kiss' for a couple of the guys as they came off the ship," Gretchen recalls, explaining that she was the first person to greet the two lucky men.  "The first hug was to an engaged man and the kiss was to a married guy.  I had no idea I was going to get to do those."

After the welcoming ceremony, Gretchen and Grace toured the USS Oak Hill with a personal guide from the base.  "That was the first time I had ever been on a ship like that," Gretchen notes.  "I had only seen them from a distance.  And it's tight quarters in there, I have to say," Gretchen adds with a laugh.  "I think Grace got a little overwhelmed in there because the ship is so big.  We did a quick tour and that took about 30 minutes, so I'm guessing that a full tour would take close to an hour."

As excited as she was to get the tour, Gretchen got an equally big kick out of watching her daughter enjoy the experience.  "She got to sit in the captain's chair," Gretchen says with considerable parental elation.  "And she asked a lot of questions about the ship and the military.  She had gotten the day off from school, but I feel like this was educational for her.  She had never done anything like this before and it was cool to just watch her take it all in.  It was more of a field trip than a day off from school."

The visit to the base came in the midst of a busy period for the "Redneck Woman" singer.  Gretchen has recently formed her own record label, Redneck Records, after parting ways with her previous label.  She plans to release an album soon and currently has a single, "If I Could Do It All Again," available on iTunes.

"It's extremely exciting," she says of the new venture.  "I've got so many things going on right now, my head is spinning.  I'm busier than I have been in about two years, but it's a good feeling, not an overwhelming one."

Gretchen's never too overtaxed to perform for the American military, though.  "We owe so much to these men and women who just selflessly serve us and our children," Gretchen earnestly notes.  "It's the least I can do to try and give them some music and entertainment.  They are fans and they are hungry for fun - and believe me, they know how to have fun!"

"When I get the chance to play any base," Gretchen adds, "it's not just a show.  It's a way of giving back."

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