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The Story Behind "Before You Go"

 

In the early morning hours of a summer evening in 2002, Dr. Sam Bierstock was returning from a cross-country trip.

Better known as "Dr. Sam" to millions of people, the doctor had just performed an engagement with his band, "Dr. Sam & the Managed Care Blues Band ®". A professional musician and entertainer as well as a physician, Dr. Sam had been entertaining and making political commentary using satire, great music and humor since 1996 when he formed "Dr. Sam and The Managed Care Blues Band" ( www.managedmusic.com ). With performances in more than forty states, and many thousands of CDs sold, Dr. Sam had been taking on managed care and it's impact on healthcare in the United States with such riotous tunes as "You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me Blue Shield", "You're One Hip Mama ('Cause They Won't Pay For Two)", and many others. His music with a message and good-natured humorous commentary had been featured nationally on CNN, National Public Radio, People Magazine, USA Today and many other national forums.

On this particular evening, Dr. Sam was tired. He had parted with his band members and was headed home from a cross-country gig that had returned him to his home base in Florida at 1 AM. After retrieving his car from the parking lot, he handed his parking ticket to the elderly man in the collection booth. Retrieving his change, Dr. Sam wished the attendant a good evening. He was somewhat startled when he received an unexpected angry and resentful reply. " I took two bullets for this country," the attendant responded, "and look what I am doing now!"

Uncertain as to how to respond initially, Dr. Sam pocketed his change, rolled up his window and began to drive off. The time that it took to drive ten or fifteen feet from the toll booth was enough for him to digest what had just happened. With no one behind him, Dr. Sam backed up, rolled down his window and addressed the elderly attendant. "Sir", he said, " I have had a wonderful life in this country, and I want to thank you sincerely for what you did to preserve our way of life in this country." Saying nothing in response, the man began to cry.

As he drove home in those early morning hours, Dr. Sam was haunted by what had just occurred. As a 'Baby Boomer" his early years of life were within a decade of the end of the Second World War. His step-father had been wounded in Italy, and other family members had served in the armed forces. Distant relatives had perished in the holocaust. What would have happened, he thought, if we had lost World War Two to Hitler and his Nazi henchmen? He realized that not only would our entire way of life and system of freedom been destroyed, his parents and grandparent would have been killed, he would never have been born and his children would not exist. The same fate would have been met by virtually all other members of minorities, many religious groups, and the disabled. The personal freedoms that we take so much for granted would have disappeared. "How", he thought, "do you thank someone enough for the existence of your children, and for all of the freedoms and opportunities that we all take so much for granted?"

The next morning, Dr. Sam wrote the lyrics to "Before You Go". The lyrics came easily to him since they came so much from the heart. The challenge then came in setting them to music.

For months he struggled with finding just the right musical genre. Should it be a patriotic song resounding with majesty, or a country tune? He had consulted several well known and successful professional song writers who felt that his lyrics were more of a "poem" than song lyrics and suggested that he re-work them. But what he had written was what he felt, so he resisted a change in wording. He sent the lyrics to fellow musicians, and to authors of film scores. No one seemed to take interest or express a willingness to tackle the lyrics and the message.

During the summer of 2005, Dr. Sam was on his way to yet another gig with his band. The band had a new keyboard player, John Melnick. Classically trained as a pianist, and a seasoned singer and entertainer, John was on his first road trip with the band with scheduled stops in Philadelphia and Scottsdale. Walking through one of the airports, Dr. Sam casually mentioned to John that he had been struggling with putting some lyrics to music and couldn't seem to find the right fit. "Let me take a shot at it," john offered. The result was "Before You Go"

With the music provided by John Melnick, Dr. Sam went into the studio with John and his production team, John Catalano and Newell Bate. With Andy Russell on drums, John Catalano on guitar and bass, Dr. Sam on harmonica, and John Melnick providing both keyboard and vocals, and Peter White harmonizing, "Before you Go" became a reality at last.

Feeling that they had produced a very high quality "demo" recording, Dr. Sam and John began "shopping" the song in an effort to interest a well-known celebrity singer, certain that a highly recognizable and popular singer would assure that their message of thanks would be spread more quickly if it was recorded by someone of national stature as a recording artist. As negotiations continued, time continued to pass. Acutely aware that the veterans of World War Two were being lost to age and time at a rate of 1,000 to 2,000 per day, they made the decision to release their recording for free listening on the Internet, in the hope that the message would be spread by those who heard their tune and forwarded it on to others. To enhance the impact of the song, Dr. Sam created a visual presentation to accompany the display of his lyrics, attempting to include as many of the branches of service of the armed forces, the allies, both sexes, and as many ethnic groups as possible in order to fortify a recognition of all who had done so much to preserve our way of life - and our very lives.

Within one week, "Before You Go" was being downloaded at a rate of 400 to 500 downloads per day. By the end of the first six weeks, downloads totaled more than 450,000 peaking at 50,000 per day at one point.

Emails began to pour in, with profound expressions of gratitude for the recognition extended to World War Two veterans by the song - not just from veterans of that war themselves, but from veterans of all of the wars since, people in active service, and especially from the sons, daughters and grandchildren of the veterans of World War Two.

As can be seen by reading page after page of excerpts to follow, these notes contained a common thread. Sons and daughters told of their parents and grandparents never talking about what they had seen or experienced during the war. Just as "Before You Go" expressed;

"You never boasted, bragged or asked For adulation for your past You did the job you knew was right And quietly you cry at night."

Our thanks go to all of those who have listened to 'Before you Go" at www.beforeyougo.us, and passed it on to friends, family, radio and television stations, printed media, religious groups and organizations of all types.

Dr. Sam's and John Melnick's goal from the beginning has been to get this message to every surviving veteran of World War Two while we still have them, to their families and to their descendants. "Before You Go" has had its own life, thanks to all of you who have helped to spread this message of thanks.

 

America.

I find it amazing that this photo, taken so many years ago, actually still exists!

And now someone has put it online for all of us to see.
This INCREDIBLE picture was taken in 1918.

It is 18,000 men preparing for war in a training camp at Camp Dodge in Iowa . EIGHTEEN THOUSAND MEN!!!!!

What a priceless gift from our grandfathers...

 

Ann Margaret - This is a good counter balance story to the Jane Fonda " Vietnam" Woman Of The Year story.

Viet Nam 1966

Richard, (my husband), never really talked a lot about his time in Viet Nam other than he had been shot by a sniper. However, he had a rather grainy, 8 x 10 black and white photo he had taken at a USO show of Ann Margaret with Bob Hope in the background that was one of his treasures.

A few years ago, Ann Margaret was doing a book signing at a local bookstore. Richard wanted to see if he could get her to sign the treasured photo so he arrived at the bookstore at 12 o'clock for the 7:30 signing.

When I got there after work, the line went all the way around the bookstore, circled the parking lot and disappeared behind a parking garage. Before her appearance, bookstore employees announced that she would sign only her book and no memorabilia would be permitted.

Richard was disappointed, but wanted to show her the photo and let her know how much those shows meant to lonely GI's so far from home. Ann Margaret came out looking as beautiful as ever and, as second in line, it was soon Richard's turn.

He presented the book for her signature and then took out the photo. When he did, there were many shouts from the employees that she would not sign it. Richard said, "I understand. I just wanted her to see it."

She took one look at the photo, tears welled up in her eyes and she said, "This is one of my gentlemen from Viet Nam and I most certainly will sign his photo. I know what these men did for their country and I always have time for 'my gentlemen.'"

With that, she pulled Richard across the table and planted a big kiss on him. She then made quite a to-do about the bravery of the young men she met over the years, how much she admired them, and how much she appreciated them. There weren't too many dry eyes among those close enough to hear. She then posed for pictures and acted as if he were the only one there.

Later at dinner, Richard was very quiet. When I asked if he'd like to talk about it, my big strong husband broke down in tears. "That's the first time anyone ever thanked me for my time in the Army," he said.

That night was a turning point for him. He walked a little straighter and, for the first time in years, was proud to have been a Vet. I'll never forget Ann Margaret for her graciousness and how much that small act of kindness meant to my husband.

I now make it a point to say "Thank you" to every person I come across who served in our Armed Forces. Freedom does not come cheap and I am grateful for all those who have served their country.

If you'd like to pass on this story, feel free to do so. Perhaps it will help others to become aware of how important it is to acknowledge the contribution our service people make.

 

'It’s time to accept that he’s dead and bring him home’

For the father he never knew, an Iraq war vet embarked on his own mission to Laos. By Chuck Haga, Star Tribune

An old Air Force pilot's sidearm. A set of dog tags.
A survivor's recollection of enemy shouts, gunshots, a friend's scream from across a river in Laos, then silence.
A single fragment of bone.
It's enough, the son says. A family and a nation have done all they could.
"It's time. It's time to accept that he's dead and bring him home," the son, Brian Danielson, said of his dad.
Capt. Benjamin Franklin Danielson was 26 when his F4 Phantom fighter jet was shot down over Laos in December 1969 during the Vietnam War. The Air Force listed him as missing in action until 1976, then presumed dead.

(LCDR Brian Danielson, USN)

Lt. Cmdr. Brian Danielson, 39, a Navy pilot from Kenyon, Minn., followed his father into the air, though he was just 1 year old when his dad went to war, 18 months old when Capt. Danielson was shot down.
Last year, after directing operations of a squadron of carrier-based planes in Iraq, Brian Danielson got permission from the Joint POW/MIA Command to join a ground search.
It would be a search along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and he would be the first active-duty service member to participate in a search for an MIA father.
That search and a subsequent visit to another site turned up no new evidence.
But with the weight of what was found earlier, including a "highly probable DNA match" from the bone fragment found in 2003, the in-country experience persuaded Danielson and his mother, Mary, to call an end to the long seeking.
"You could shoot holes in all the investigative work that's been done. You could drive yourself crazy. But we found out what we needed to know. ... We have the certain knowledge that he is dead. And I got to go to Laos and see how the process works," Brian Danielson said last week.
Now the Navy flier is planning a final flight for his father, with military escort from the DNA lab in Hawaii to Minnesota, and a June memorial in Kenyon. He plans a military flyover there and a reunion of people who tried to rescue his father, many of whom he has met.
He has invited veterans, too, and people who wore a bracelet bearing his father's name.
His mother, still in Kenyon, added a note to the invitation: "If you have known us, walked along with us from afar, or just knew of our journey, you are most welcome to join us."
Brian said his long odyssey taught him much about his father, the man as well as the fellow combat pilot.
"Because I was so young, I don't have that personal relationship or knowledge of him," he said. "But I've learned that he was a good man.
"A lot of people have said my dad would be proud of me. That feels pretty good. That's about as good as it gets for a father-son relationship."
On a mission on Dec. 5, 1969, Ben Danielson took off from Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, to intercept North Vietnamese troops on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Another pilot saw his plane pitch violently, according to military reports. Two parachutes opened. Danielson and 1st Lt. Woody Bergeron, his weapons officer, landed on opposite sides of a river.
Rescue teams made hundreds of sorties trying to save the two downed fliers. They were driven back by enemy fire, and one helicopter crew member was killed.
Danielson and Bergeron could see each other across the river and communicated by radio. But the next morning, Bergeron heard sounds of close fighting from Danielson's position, then silence.
Bergeron was rescued after 51 hours in the jungle. He has talked with Brian Danielson, telling him what he could about those last hours, and he plans to attend the memorial.
In 1990, Brian and his mother established a leadership award in his father's name at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., where father and son both played football.
A year later, the father's service pistol was found in a Vietnam museum. In 2003, a piece of bone and a set of dog tags were brought to U.S. authorities in Vietnam. DNA testing indicated the bone almost certainly was Danielson's.
As he returned from Laos last year, Brian Danielson talked about living with his father's absence.
"If you aren't careful, life can pass you by," he said. "I believed and still do believe that the last thing my father would have wanted would be for me to miss opportunities in life because I was too distraught over the circumstances of his disappearance."
He's disappointed the team failed to find anything in Laos, but quick to praise the effort.
"This is the most important thing I've ever done," he said. "I was able to go to the area where he was killed. I walked around and did some soul-searching. Mom and I talked and decided it's time to close the books on this and be thankful for what we have."
He is thankful "for all the people who've stepped in because my father wasn't there," and for strangers who cared enough to wear a bracelet.
He said, "I've been contacted by a family who said they had been wearing my dad's bracelet for 23 years."They said there was never a doubt in their mind that we would find my dad and bring him home."

Chuck Haga • 612-673-4514 • crhaga@startribune.com
©2007 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.


Ann Mills Griffiths
Executive Director
National League of POW/MIA Families
1005 North Glebe Road, Suite 170
Arlington, VA 22201
703-465-7432
www.pow-miafamilies.org