Thank-you to our WWII/Korean/Vietnam Vets..

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grassy

grassy

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The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood!

Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach , Fla. , eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after appearing at an event.

He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak. "I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly.

At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you."

Then the old soldier began to cry.

"That really got to me," Bierstock says.

Cut to today.

Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band, Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a song inspired by that old soldier in the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."

The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web, the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren.

"It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discuss " the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio , Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach . "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."

Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John McCain and others in Washington . Already they have been invited to perform it in Houston for a Veterans Day tribute - this after just a few days on the Web. They hope every veteran in America0gets a chance to hear it.

GOD BLESS every EVERY veteran...

and THANK YOU to those of you veterans who may receive this !

For WWII / Korean

http://www.beforeyougo.us/play_byg

For Vietnam vets..

http://www.beforeyougo.us/play_byg_vn

Grassy
 
Thanks for posting that!!!! It was hard to read the words....I always get melancholy thinking of those who went before us, who sacrificed so we could walk free, including my father, who nearly lost his life @ 18 fighting for this great country!!!!

FF
 
There was two guys that would come into the store and BS with me. One was in WWII and the other was in WWII and Korea. They had some storys that would make you proud to know them and respect them. One died a few years ago. I have not seen the other in about a year. I hope he is well but he too may be gone. I would like to send a salute out to them and thouse like them that gave so much for there country. You will be missed.
 
My dad, my wife's dad, gramp's was gassed but survived a while at home..too many other relatives..we are lucky..Nov 11th isn't just a school holiday in our family...
 
Veterans day should NOT be honored with Veterans Day sales at Macy's. All businesses should be closed. Just like Christmas. I practically threw a bottle at my TV when I saw an advertisement for a Macy's Veterans Day sale.
 
Thanks for posting that Grassy! I too get teary eyed thinking about all those soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our country trying to preserve our freedom. My Grandfather signed up for the Navy in WWII and was part of liberating the Phillipines in the Pacific Theatre. He was a Coxswain on LST boat. Too bad he passed away a year before I was born,he may have had some stories to tell.

LST594.jpg
 
This hits especially "close to home" as I grew up in Boynton Beach and was a graduate of the final class (1970) of Seacrest HS in Delray Beach, Fl. before it was renamed Atlantic HS.

Thanks for your timely post and, by the way, EVERY time I'm in line for lunch at a fast food place and a member of our military is behind me or in front of me I insist on paying for their lunch. My Dad was a Commander in the Navy, my son served in the Marines and I was too naive and anti-war to "do my duty", after all, I was a child of the 60's. Well I've wised up now.

Hopefully in some small way my buying lunch for one that serves makes up for my ignorance, probably not, but it makes me feel better about past mistakes.

To all that served, a sincere thank you.

Jim
 
Thanks grassy for posting that!
My boyfriend is enlisting into the Army Rangers this February, and its reasurring to know that what our brave men and women have done for us will always be remembered.
To all US veterans and those currently serving THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wav:
 
Thank you grassy! It's sooo important for everyone to remember that "FREEDOM IS NOT FREE".
 
Thank you, grassy for taking the time to post up this thread. I'll salute those who have gone into harm's way for this country and add another to the list: the Cold Warriors. Shot's may not have been fired (officially) during the Cold War, but these men and women stood at the ready in case someone called them to action.

Anyone here remember the incident in the early or mid 1980s in which a Soviet ship and one of our US destroyers rammed each other in the Black Sea? The Black Sea was always a bone of contention during the Cold War, with the Soviet Union declaring it Soviet waters exclusively, but the rest of the world recognizing it as international waters. The Soviet ship had been harrassing the US destroyer all day long and rules of engagement said the Captain couldn't do a thing about it. The Soviet captain made the mistake of getting a little too close when the destroyer captain ordered it be rammed. Afterwards the Soviet backed off and stopped it's harrassment. It became an international incident, but the message had been sent. My brother-in-law was on that US destroyer. Forgive me, but I can't remember if it was the Nichelson or the ship he served on before.


I point this out because we have had men and women putting their lives on the line for our countries and the rest of the world since the foundation of our countries. I, personally, give thanks to those who have had the courage to enlist, no matter when the call to duty struck: The soldiers, sailors, and airmen of WWII and afterwards: during the rebuilding of Europe and the division of Germany; Korea; Vietnam; during times of peace; the Cold War, when they needed to pay particular attention to politics, both here and abroad; the SOGs who played a role in the Cold War and the War of Terror before it even began and would never officially be counted; our folks serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today.

For those of you who have lost loved ones and for those who have served and lost peers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8_FqJcFRas
 
anyone else notice our smilies are saluting lefthanded? Not to break the thread up or anything, just saying...
 
Yes we sure do Tony, I have never served but all my uncles and grandfathers has and I do not take my freedom for granted. Thank you grassy
My home on the hill is safe today because of our troops putting there life on the line. I pray for them every day, if I don't forget and pass out to sleep.
 
I too would like to thank those who came and fought before me . If it wasn't for brave Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airman I would not have the things I have today. From every last bit of love in my heart I truely THANK YOU.
 
THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH.
We soldiers do what we do, so that you can have what is the best in this ol'
world. We spend time away from our family's so that you can be with yours and sometimes the gratitude is lacking from the people that don't quite get it.
We have buried friends and comrades both old and new. Been hugged by, and have hugged old vets that were never appreciated like they should have been. So a little bit of thanks goes a long way for a soldier.

There is a really good thread for veterans on this site, so to all of my fellow soldiers and veterans I just want to say:

THANK YOU! and GOD be with you in all your endeavores!
 
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