PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - After a summer tour, the band KISS rocked Portland Sunday night at the Cross Insurance Arena.
They made thousands of fans very happy - one veteran in particular.
As KISS has done throughout the “Freedom to Rock” tour, the "Hiring for Heroes" program was able to give a vet in Portland his long-time dream.
“Since I was yay high...I've been waiting all my life for this,” said Sergeant Scott Lewis.
He has waited his whole life for the chance to get closer to his favorite band, KISS.
He's already been to a dozen KISS concerts since the '80s, and after several years of active duty serving our country...his dream is finally coming true.
He was selected as the Veteran Roadie for the Day, and got to help set up the gigantic stage when the town lights up as Portland Rock City.
But, that wasn't all. “[The organizer] tells me I get to meet the band,” said Lewis. “And I'm like ‘wait I get to meet the band?!’ I thought I was just going for work.”
Lewis thinks he might be the biggest KISS fan there is - and can't believe that he got to spend the day with his biggest inspiration.
“When I was young, they were my heroes for what they do,” he said. “And now that I'm an adult, I look at how they did it. And now they're my heroes for how they did it. Just hard work and being true to themselves.”
He says the experience Sunday is the excitement he's been searching for.
“You get home from being in Iraq, Afghanistan, wherever, and you kind of feel empty. You're bored. There's nothing like being over there. When you're over there, you want to come home. When you come home, you want to go back. Having an opportunity like this, especially for somebody who is a true fan...it kind of lights that fire inside again,” he said of his experience.
Lewis will “Rock and Roll all Nite” with his heroes.