Tribute to the boys

[evangilder]

Got this in e-mail this morning and had to send it along. Get the tissues nearby. it got to me.

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 http://www.beforeyougo.us/, 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 America gets a chance to hear it.

GOD BLESS every EVERY veteran...
and THANK you to those of you veterans who may receive this !

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES:

http://www.managedmusic.com/beforeyougo.html

Then share it -- and send it to everyone you know!

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i think that's a great tribute to some great men... i've already passed it on to someone........

[Gnomey]

That is great a really good tribute, I passed it on to some people as well as bookmarking the site. Is there anywhere I could download it on the web?

[Maestro]

What can I really add ?

[lesofprimus]

Ummmm..... I appreciate the time these guys put into it, but I didnt find the song awe-inspiring or anything...

But it is great to see someone giving thanks to the many that so rightly deserve it....

[schwarzpanzer]

It's so sad how little British and German war veterans get. Usually kicked to death by Chavs for "a laugh" and/or a couple of quid now.

[evangilder]

I agree, Les, the song wasn't the best, but the sentiment is worthwhile. What inspired it was noteworthy too.