Thank you to our WWII and other vets……

I’ve been baby sitting our two grandkids for the last four days while our daughter and SIL are in Denver for a wedding. They are a joy and I thank God every day for them. Tonight, after putting the kids to bed, I decided that I should check the emails before I go to sleep. I noticed one from a friend of ours that caught my eye and had me in tears. Here it is:

The story is excellent but you must go to the link at the end to get full appreciation.

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 win e 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 t hem."

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 TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES:

Note from Lucy: This email had me crying before I could hardly start reading it. All I could do was think about my dad who served in WWII. He was in the Navy and his job was to work the “big guns” on the ships. He was always so proud that he could serve our country in WWII. When he died, almost eight years ago next month, the military came out and gave him a 21 gun salute. I know he would have loved it. His favorite show on TV, while I was growing up, was Victory at Sea. He talked all about the war and what it meant for our country to come out victors. So you can only imagine why my tears flowed as I watch that video and listened to the music. My dad loved history and he enjoyed watching the History channel on TV. He instilled a love for history to my son when he lived with us for a while after his heart surgery. I know if he were alive today, he would be supporting our troops for all the hard work they do for our country. Please remember to say thank you when you see a man or woman in uniform.

Have a great week everyone.