Dolly Parton's ‘all-American heart’: How country icon forged special bond with US military

Dolly Parton wore rhinestones and fringe, not a military uniform , but the American music legend spent decades finding her own ways to serve those who served America.

Parton, who died Tuesday at 80 in Nashville , forged a lasting connection with the military during her seven-decade career.

Her iconic blonde likeness appeared on U.S. military aircraft, she performed for troops and military families , recorded patriotic music and once took the Grand Ole Opry stage as American service members watched from Iraq.

TRUMP MOURNS DOLLY PARTON, ORDERS US FLAGS LOWERED NATIONWIDE AFTER COUNTRY MUSIC ICON DIES The connection was personal, too.

Carl Dean, Parton's husband of nearly six decades, enlisted in the Army shortly after they began dating and served for two years, according to Biography.com .

The couple married in 1966, and remained together until Dean's death in 2025.

Parton once described her patriotism in simple terms.

"I've got an all-American heart," she told Vanity Fair in a 1991 profile.

Vanity Fair accompanied Parton to Fort Hood, Texas, for that profile, where she met service members, including soldiers who had returned from the Persian Gulf only weeks earlier.

The magazine also reported that Parton's likeness appeared on a KC-135 and an A-10 Thunderbolt during the Gulf War era.

During her Fort Hood visit, Parton climbed onto the shoulders of an Army major near two M-1 tanks and delivered a pointed message to Saddam Hussein in a way only she could.

COUNTRY STAR CHRIS JANSON SAYS RESPECTING THE FLAG IS THE NUMBER ONE LESSON HE WANTS HIS KIDS TO LEARN "Saddam Hussein, you son of a b----!" Parton shouted, according to Vanity Fair.

"You touch one of my men again and see what happens!" Later, Parton posed for photographs with soldiers and their families and signed autographs inside a Fort Hood theater, the magazine reported.

The service members eventually began chanting: "Dol-ly! U-S-A! Dol-ly! U-S-A!" More than a decade later, Parton's connection with the military produced another memorable tribute.