Tribute to WWII veterans

[bbqcook]

Please read to the end and then click on the website -- this is fabulous!



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 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 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:



Before You Go

[jcurt172]

Amen and God bless 'em all.

[Kentfb]

Thanks for posting. GOD BLESS every veteran

[liquid1]

AMEN and may god Bless every Veteran and present military person that are fighting just to get home alive..Thanks for sharing BBQ..james

[The TINMAN]

Thanks for posting that Earl.. God Bless them and All our Service Men and Women where ever they may be. God Bless Them One and ALL !!!!!!!

[EBCIII]

Thank you so much Earl. That really hit me this morning. Very good job by the artists.

Thanks to all the Veterans. Thank you for your service, and everything you did for us, Beale.

['E']

Thank you for that Earl, my dad served in WW II so I appreciate that!!

[EPC Guy]

Thank you SO much for posting this. Soon all of these heroes will be gone, and gone too will be the opportunity to thank them and show them the gratitude and respect that they deserve.

[Buster]

Thanks for the post BBQ..My dad also served in wwII...He is gone now...about 7 years...He would be proud to see this...As always I miss him...Still I would also like to thank the rest....Buster....

[Capt.B]

Great post, THANKS to all our service men and women.