WW II

[ronstan]

Received this from my sister. Thought is was a good one


WWII tribute you must read and hear!

This takes a few minutes to load BUT definitely worth it.

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

Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1:00 AM, 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 lot 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 WW 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 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" song does more than salute those who fought in WW II. It encourages people to go out their way to thank the aging warriors before die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have changed,"says Bierstock, who plays harmonica in the band. The 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 veterans son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discus "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 the song 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.

Here is the website - go to it - hear the song and see the
pictures!

www.beforeyougo.us

[SAndreasen]

Boy does this say it all. My father is a WWII vet and I thank him a lot for not only being my dad but for what he did. He says that there are some memories that are just to bad to share with us. I don't think we (us young ens) can even comprehend what WWII was like. THANKS DAD!

[Parrothead]

Ron, thank you for sharing this wonderful tribute. I sent it to all my daughters. Just wish my Daddy was still here to hear it. He was in North Africa and Italy with Ike and Patton.
Happy trails.................

[Charlie]

I was wondering if someone was going to make a post remembering Pearl Harbor three days ago and it must have slipped everyone's mind.....

[Glenn and Lorraine]

quote:Originally posted by ronstan

Received this from my sister. Thought is was a good one


WWII tribute you must read and hear!

This takes a few minutes to load BUT definitely worth it.

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

Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1:00 AM, 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 lot 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 WW 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 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" song does more than salute those who fought in WW II. It encourages people to go out their way to thank the aging warriors before die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have changed,"says Bierstock, who plays harmonica in the band. The 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 veterans son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discus "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 the song 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.

Here is the website - go to it - hear the song and see the
pictures!

www.beforeyougo.us

Thanks Ron, I lost the sound in my laptop about a month ago and could not hear the music but the pictures and the words were all I needed.

Thank you so very much. I will pass this onto my brothers that fought in WWII. I am sure they will thank you as well.

[Parrothead]

Charlie
Didn't forget about Pearl Harbor just didn't post anything. Ed and I were talking that evening about the numbers lost and also how they have changed the history books to not make the Japanese look bad. A lot of great Americans died that day and the days afterwards.
Happy trails....................

[palebluedot]

ronstan,
Thanks so much for that link. It is sad that today's generation seldom remembers the great sacrifices that these guys made. My uncle served in the engineer battalion that built the bridges ahead of Patton's tanks in Europe. He would tell the story of being next to Patton on the banks of the Rhine river on Easter Sunday morning April 1, 1945. He returned form the war with horrible arthritis which he suffered from until his death in 1967. I was born a year after the end of the war, so I really have no idea what these men had to endure. Here is an account of their building those bridges at that time.

It was during this week, in late March of 1945, that the U.S. Third Army under Gen. Patton, began its famous bridging and crossing operations of the Rhine. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. Without the luck of the 9th Armored Division, further to the north, who were able to capture the only intact bridge across the Rhine at Remagen, Patton's Third Army faced the necessity of bridging the wide river with their own resources. There had been a total of 22 road and 25 railroad bridges spanning the Rhine into Germany, but with the exception of the Remagen Bridge, they had all been destroyed.

In a special order to his men, Patton stated that from late January to late March, "you have taken over 6,400 square miles of territory, seized over 3,000 cities, towns and villages including Trier, Koblenz, Bingen, Worms, Mainz, Kaiserslautern, and Ludwigshafen. You have captured over 140,000 soldiers, killed or wounded an additional 100,000 while eliminating the German 1st and 7th Armies. Using speed and audacity on the ground with support from peerless fighter-bombers in the air, you kept up a relentless round-the-clock attack on the enemy. Your assault over the Rhine at 2200 last night assures you of even greater glory to come." (After Action Report, Third U.S. Army, page 313)

The first unit to cross was the 5th Infantry Division that used assault rafts to cross the raging Rhine at Oppenheim (west of Darmstadt and south of Mainz) in the early morning hours of March 23. The 150th Engineer Combat Battalion (ECB) inflated the floats for the bridge in the rear area, moved them to the river in trucks, and by daybreak had assembled them into rafts. By 1880 that evening, a class 40 M-2 treadway bridge was taking traffic. The following day, a second 1,280 foot class 24 bridge was completed in the same area. It was later upgraded to a class M-40 bridge. Without the benefit of aerial bombardment or artillery preparation, units landed quickly and established a beachhead that was seven miles wide and six miles deep in less than 24 hours. Several amphibious tanks of the 748th Tank Battalion crossed with the men of the 5th ID.

When daylight came, the Luftwaffe attacked the enclave with 154 aircraft in an attempt to dislodge the foothold on the east bank. Effective anti-aircraft fires brought down 18 of the attacking planes and destroyed 15 more.

By March 27, five divisions with supporting troops and supplies had crossed the three bridges constructed at Oppenheim. The entire 6th Armored Division crossed in lass than 17 hours. During the period of March 24-31, a total of 60,000 vehicles passed over these bridges. After consolidating on the east bank, the Third Army continued its drive to the east, capturing Darmstadt on March 25, and arriving in Frankfurt the following day.

Working as a well-coordinated unit, the Third Army relied upon trained veteran soldiers, dedicated leadership, an excellent working relationship with the XIX Tactical Air Command, a logistical train that moved all classes of supplies and personnel replacements quickly to the front.

Thanks Uncle John, and all who were with you.

[Sweetfire]

I will NEVER forget them or any other of our Vets, having service during peace time or conflict. Freedom is never "FREE". Some people always want to think the human race is noble and high minded. They need to travel outside the U.S.A. more. I'll stop here or I'll begin to rant.

[Bear Hunter]

Ronstan
Thank you very much. As a DAV from Vietman I can relate to this. I now have a son who is in the desert for his 4th time. Very time I get my VFW paper and see the number of WWII vets who have passed it sends a chill down my back. These brave men and women are passing at an alarming rate and will soon be gone as are the Vets from WWI. There passing closes a page in our history few young people know about since many of our school no longer have anything about the World Wars in their history books. It seems all the wars are no long part of history they feel our childern should know about even though they are an important part of our past and what this Country stands for. Had we lost either of the World Wars life in this country would be much differant then it is to day. THANK GOD FOR OUR VETERANS!!!

Again thank you for this post, I plan to send this to my son in the desert.
SEMPER FI