I have seen many tributes to the Veterans in numerous Emails on the internet. Frankly as a Veteran I have found many of them more focused on the perpetuation of war, the rationalization of political intervention and the glorification of a popular patriotism that thoughtlessly supports the actions of our leaders.
This story and the attached tribute to the veterans of WWII and Korea are different. I hope you will check it out and forward it to others. Since this is all about selfless service and many of the veterans of this era do not have access to the internet, I want to challenge you to find a WWII or Korea Veteran and thank them for their service. Visit with them for a while and if you can provide them with some form of loving kindness.
Jim Shepherd -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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, Florida 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 WW II. 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 "Before You Go" 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 Bataan, Cassino, Anzio, Omaha Beach, St. Lo, Cologne and the islands in the Pacific. "I can never thank them enough" the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."
Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping their song off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time is running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. 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 America gets a chanc e to hear it.
GOD BLESS every EVERY veteran...and THANK YOU to those of you veterans who may receive this !
