(Click on “Tennessee” for music from "Pearl Harbor")

Memorial Day

The Day of Infamy, sixty years ago this year

Somehow, the memory is ever so clear.

It was in a harbor, the name of Pearl,

An American Flag remained unfurled.

It was a morn of sunshine clear,

The birds could be heard in every ear.

A thunderous roar came out of the West,

The direction of the red robin's nest.

A soldier's thoughts were that of home,

For now he seemed to be so very alone.

The bombs came, they rained their hell!

Soldiers, sailors, and people fell.

A bomb fell so very close by,

A soldier was hurled high into the sky.

Those last few moments of his life,

He dreamed of his world with less strife.

He longed for the folks back home,

A girlfriend not, for he was alone.

His thoughts were of Mom and Dad

As the life from this young man bled.

And now once a year in this month of May,

From his grave, this soldier has his say.

Remember me, and my comrades at arms,

Bless those that keep this country from harm.

May 2001

As I compose this verse with the mournful musical background,

tears meld with the words as I remember those friends and acquaintances

whose lives were taken.  With the utmost gratitude and honor, I offer my

deepest respect to those brave young men and women who gave their

last full measure, and to those who endured enormous physical and mental

hardships in the defense of our homeland. 

It has been said that only the good die young.  

Most did not want to die, they just

wanted to get back home and live the life that most of us enjoy.

They just wanted to be near their loved ones, grow up, marry and

raise their children.   They just wanted a house, a car, some

conveniences, to live in the suburbs, and take photographs on

a Sunday afternoon.   They just wanted to teach their sons to

play baseball, ride a horse, and throw a football.   They did

not want to point a gun at another human, nor take the lives of

other individuals.  Their lives were snuffed out so very young,

but they did want to do what ever they

could or whatever was necessary to permit others like you

and I to enjoy this hallowed land.   

God bless them and may God bless America! 

......Have a peaceful and thankful Memorial Day......

To repeat the music, click on “Tennessee”