The Arizona that day
Pearl Harbor     Day
December 7
December seventh of every year shall be known and designated as "Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day". It shall be a day on which to commemorate the sacrifice of more than two thousand citizens of the United States who were killed and more than one thousand citizens who were wounded when the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air Force attacked units of the armed forces of the United States stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This caused the United States to enter into World War II. 
 
All citizens should devote some portion of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day to solemn contemplation of the selfless sacrifice made by those who gave their lives for their country in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The flag of the United States shall fly at half-staff each December seventh in honor of the individuals who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor. 

                       "Before You Go"

Veterans of WWII are now dying at a rate of about 2,000 per day. I encountered the following article in the Union-Tribune this morning, and checked out the referenced song (link in the article). It is a legitimate link, virus free, and an OUTSTANDING song in memory of our WWII veterans. 
PLEASE take the time to read the article below and listen to the song at the link listed below. It may be the most valuable reading and listening you do in a long time. 

Article
******* 
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. "Every ethnic minority would be dead and 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 http://www.managedmusic.com/beforeyougo.html , 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.

Last edited on Wed Dec 7th, 2005 09:35 am by tny795