I wrote this song to pay tribute to All Veterans and

would be honored if you choose to post it on your Patriotic

Web Site. I thank you and God Bless!

A Tribute To Veterans

In Vietnam, Korea and World Wars Past
Our Men Fought Bravely so Freedom Would Last
Conditions Where Not Always Best They Could Be
Fighting a Foe You Could Not Always See:

From Mountain Highs to Valley Lows
From Jungle Drops to Desert Patrols

Our Sinewy Sons Were Sent Over Seas
Far From Their Families And Far From Their Dreams
They Never Wrote Letters Of Hardships Despair
Only Of Love, Yearning That One Day Soon:

They Would Come Home, They Would Resume
And Carry On With The Rest of Their Lives

The P.O.W.’S Stood Steadfast
Against the Indignities And Cruelties Of War
They Could Not Have Lasted as Long as They Did
If They Had Relinquished Their Hope That Some Day:

They Would Come Home, They Would Resume
And Carry On the Rest Of Their Lives

Medics, Nurses, and Chaplains Alike
Did What They Needed To Bring Back Life
They Served Our Forces From Day Into Night
Not Questioning If They Would Survive:

They Mended Bones And Bodies Too,
They Soothed the Spirits of Dying Souls

And for Those M.I.A’S, Who Were Left Behind
We Echo This Message Across the Seas
We Will search For as Long As It Takes
You’re Not Forgotten And Will Always Be:

In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers,
In Our Minds For All Time

A Moment of Silence, a Moment of Summons
Is Their Deliverance of Body And Soul
To a Sacred Place That We All Know
Deep In the Shrines of Our Soul:

In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers
In Our Minds For All Time

INTERLUDE:
GOLD STAR MOTHERS GRIEVE: ENDLESSLY,
ENDLESSLY, ENDLESSLY…….

These Immortalized Soldiers Whose Bravery Abounds
They’re Our Husbands, Fathers, and Sons
They Enlisted For the Duty at Hand
To Serve the Cause of Country and Land:

They Had Honor, They Had Valor,
They Found Glory That Change Them Forever

Men Standing Tall and Proud They be
A Country Behind Them in a Solemn Sea
So Let the Flags of Freedom Fly
Unfurled in Their Majesty High:

In the Sun, In the Rain
In the Winds Across This Land

Years of Tears Has Brought Us Here
Gathering Around to Hear This Sound
So Let the Flags of Freedom Fly
Unfurled in Their Majesty High:

In the Sun, In the Rain,
In the Winds Across This Land

REPEAT:

In the Sun, In the Rain,
In the Winds For All Time

Jerry Calow (copyright 2003 )

This is my feeble (shortened) translation of a famous one:

We two are from the same old little town
Both the same height, same cowlicks won’t stay down
Same slang, same clothes, same jokes, same smiles and frowns
We two are from the same old town

We two pass through green fields our fathers sow
Up to our necks the grain now overgrown
Down in the square, we meet and hang around
We two are from the same old town.

And late on Friday night
When winds whip up a fright
Through clouds of black and blue
Then I remember you.

I see that day of neverending hell
How you were broken, and then how you fell
And when dawn came again without a sound
I brought you back to our old town.

And late on Friday night
When winds whip up a fright
Through clouds of black and blue
Then I remember you.

You see – we’re here again in our old town.
Not much has changed here, same old sights and sounds
I still pass through the fields like we did once
And you’re right there within the fence.

He escaped from the Bataan Death March, made his way back to Corrigador where McArthur held out for weeks (before fleeing).

Pop was eventually captured and spent over 3 1/2 years at Cabanatuan. He suffered multiple diseases, which may have saved him from the hell ships to Japan and hard labor. He barely survived, recovering for over a year at Fitzsimmons in Denver.

He died at age 54 in 1976 due to his poor health. All his siblings are alive and well, all 80 and older. He was in the middle agewise, but they all look up to him to this day.

I have his mother’s letters that reached him through the Japanese Red Cross. They are simple letters from Parents who barely made it past 7-8th grade. But they clearly show his Mom’s worry.

I’m amazed that I’m older than him now (at 55). My life has seen nothing like what he saw.

My dad never spoke to his kids about what he experienced in that war, although he and my mom spoke of it often. They would clam up when one of us came to the dining room table where they always sat and talked (daily) at night for hours on end. Mom told me a few things, after numerous inquiries over the years. Dad had a box of medals that my sister has. I am not sure what they all mean. It’s a big box.

My parents are long gone. But I am here, in more ways than one, because of them and so many like them.

I wish to thank all of you for yesterday, for today, and for tomorrow. The sacrifices made……. God willing, at the end of each day, we won’t let you down.

Haven’t heard pshaw since reading Sherlock Holmes. Beautiful!!