FOX Sports Southwest celebrates Independence Day with weekend tribute on Rangers telecasts

* Wounded soldiers ride to Rangers game on FOX Sports Southwest Fan Express

*  In-game features honor United States military, firefighters & police officers

*Pregame Air Force induction ceremony carried on Fourth of July telecast


'A Salute to our Heroes' was the theme for Fox Sports Southwest Texas Rangers telecasts over the Fourth of July weekend.

Special tributes were prepared for the U.S. Military on Saturday, and local police officers and firefighters on Sunday. Monday's July 4th holiday telecast featured "shout-outs" from local Airmen stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan directed to their loved ones back home.

A group of over 50 wounded soldiers and their families from Fort Sill's Warrior Transition unit in Oklahoma rode to Saturday's game in Arlington aboard the FOX Sports Southwest Fan Express, a 56-passenger VIP luxury coach wrapped in full-scale Rangers players images. They attended the game courtesy of tickets provided by FOX Sports Southwest and the Texas Rangers.

A FOX Sports Southwest reporter and camera crew traveled with the soldiers on board the bus to document the trip for a feature story that will be shown on an upcoming episode of Rangers Insider, the team's weekly magazine show.   

The soldiers also were interviewed during the game.

Taped messages from Rangers players in English and Spanish thanking the military troops and first responders for putting their lives on the line to keep America safe at home and abroad were shown throughout the weekend.

The July 4th telecast opened with the national anthem and F-16 jet fighter flyover and also included highlights from the Air Force induction ceremony that took place on the field before the game.