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 attendan t 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 theWorld 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 inWWII. 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 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:
http://www.managedmusic.com/Music/PlayBeforeYouGo.php

Thanks Dave!

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"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not."
Thomas Jefferson

Darlene

God Bless the great United States of America. My wifes Dad just passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 82 and was a veteran of WWII. He could sit for hours on end telling story's to us. He also lost his younger brother over there. He never lost his pride in our flag. Sitting in a wheel chair barley able to move he always found the strength to saluted old glory. Here a story about him that ran in our local paper. Here's to you Dad.

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Kathy
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man".
http://www.dandkoff-roadpark.com/forum.html

I am glad that they finally got him his medal....He sounds like a great man and a Great American Veteran! I am fiercely Patriotic.. My Daddy is a Veteran of both The
Korean Conflict and The Vietnam Police Action (isn't it odd that so many people died for a conflict and an action? It's a good thing neither of these were wars, no telling how many would've died then) My Grandfather was a Veteran of WWI... I had four Uncles who were Veterans of WWII..Uncle Joe, Uncle Tug, Uncle Henry and Uncle Noah ..I was raised to stand and place your hand over your heart when you hear The Star Spangled Banner or when you say The Pledge Of Allegiance...now, people don't even stop talking during either one....I believe people have grown too complacent nowadays...They just don't act PROUD to be a citizen of the greatest Country in the world anymore...They take Freedom for granted.... I used to work with a man named Wayne Johnson..After a while we got to be friends, but it wasn't easy....He would laugh and joke with people but he rarely let anybody get to know the real man...He was an "old hippy" and drank like a fish....drove an old Studebaker and a VW Van....Long ponytail and handlebar moustache....Got drunk once at a biker's rally and danced naked....People made fun of him....I would just shake my head and go on..He was my pal, I just accepted him the way he was. One day I asked him how old he was and he told me...I did some quick math in my head and said "Wayne, you were in Vietnam?" He said that he was, and the years (he was drafted at 18 but re-upped for a 2nd Tour Of Duty) and that was that. He didn't say anything else about it. When that Veteran's Day came, I walked into work and gave him a hug and told him "Thank you, Wayne, for fighting for us" All of a sudden he stood up a little straighter and the next day he came to work with his hair cut and his face clean shaven......I don't know why.....I didn't ask......He never stopped drinking and died at 52 of Cirrhosis of the Liver.....I think when you go through something that big, that horrible, that life-altering for your Country, then from then on, you should be treated with RESPECT... These men who have fought, and the ones who are still fighting, are changed forever...They lose their childish innocence and then for the rest of their lives bear the scars on their souls from seeing things or having to do things that we can not even imagine. I make it a point to always thank every Veteran that I see....I'm just that way....

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"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not."
Thomas Jefferson

Darlene

I totally agree with you GatorGal.

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Kathy
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man".
http://www.dandkoff-roadpark.com/forum.html

Amen

The Wild Kids

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I refuse to grow up therefore I will never grow old, and I will never die.

Amen to that great song. and to all our soldiers, past and present. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Your right Darlene, these people now a days like these punks, yuppies, ect. Have absolutly no respect for our veterans let alone senior citizens.

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When in doubt, hit it in second gear!

I had to go back and buy the CD. I sent this to everyone on my Contacts list. Its sad that we are loosing so many each day now. The preacher that married me 18 years ago, went in on Omaha Beach and talked about it being the most scared he had ever been. I have talked to may that were at the VA hospital that I go to. He can see them light up to talk to them and hear their stories. I can't help but tear up talking to some of them hearing the emotions in their voice as they try to talk.

My heart goes out to all Veterans. Thats why I call them all brothers and sisters. Unless you have been there it is hard to explain how close you get to one another.

The Wild Kids

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I refuse to grow up therefore I will never grow old, and I will never die.