In memory of 'Tiny' and all those who gave their lives over Lockerbie, Scotland on 21 Dec 1988. May their sacrifice never be forgotten.| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Land of the Free |
| A Tribute to Toby Keith and the American Soldier |
| 2024-02-06 |
| [Bravo Blue on Substack] We never met, but I love Toby Keith. Not just his music, but the man. This is my short anecdote that explains (partially) why. First a tad of background is necessary. In 2004 my son was on his first (of about a dozen) combat deployments to the Mideast. He was then a 2nd Lieutenant with the 10th Mountain Division. It was the first of his many extended separations from his wonderful wife and, later, his precious son and daughter. My wife and I travelled to Ft. Drum to visit with him and his wife, and to be there when he boarded the plane, headed to war. While there, I met a few members of his unit. One of my enduring recollections was of the support given to soldiers and their families by the Battalion Command Sergeant Major’s wife as they said their good-byes, not knowing what the future held for any of them. Not long after the battalion deployed, they were engaged in street fighting in Baghdad and suffered their first KIA’s. Like all parents of deployed soldiers, I lived on pins and needles, reading and watching the news for any developments that could affect our lives. At the time, many people were repeating the mantra, "I support the troops," but not everyone could or did act on that. I wanted to make some small gesture to show support for the families that the soldiers had left behind, to show that people they did not even know appreciated their sacrifice, too. At the time I was a partner in a major international law firm. I spoke with the firm’s chairman, Gordon Rainey who is an Army veteran, and we came up with a plan. It was not a huge thing, but a way just to show that other people appreciated and had not forgotten the soldiers’ families back home. Gordon and I collaborated on a letter of support to the wives and families of every soldier in the battalion. Gordon signed it as Chairman on behalf of our firm. I made arrangements to have the letter, together with a small package of appreciation, delivered to the wives of every soldier in the battalion at Ft. Drum in upstate New York. The other items I wanted to include in our little packages for the wives were a single yellow rose and a CD with Toby Keith’s hit song, "American Soldier," which had just been released the prior November. By 2004 Toby Keith was already a megastar with multiple number one hits, including songs with pure American and patriotic and patriotic themes, such as Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. But I thought that the words of "American Soldier," which Toby co-wrote, were particularly appropriate for the battalion’s wives and families at that difficult time. Listen and read the complete lyrics below Please, don’t just skim them — read, re-read and reflect on the love that went into the composition and singing of this song. Because these CDs were coming from a law firm that was fastidious about such things, I knew that we had to get permission to make all the CDs with a copyrighted song. Not having any contacts in the Nashville music industry, I just approached the problem directly. I wrote to Toby Keith, explained the situation, and asked his approval to make hundreds of copies of "American Soldier" to send to the soldiers’ families. I was not sure whether I would get a response. A famous artist like Toby Keith gets hundreds of letters from fans all over the world. Even with the aid of staff, he can’t read, much less respond to them all. But he did. Toby wrote back, kindly giving us permission to make as many copies of "American Soldier" as we needed to show our support for the military families. So, that is my small story of a thoughtful and patriotic gesture by one of our greatest entertainers. In the overall scheme of things, it was a small matter. Toby went on to make many trips to Iraq, Afghanistan, deployed warships, and other venues to put on USO shows for the troops. He doubtlessly did not dwell on my request or even remember it later. But he allowed us to show our small measure of tangible support and appreciation for deployed soldiers’ families. To me that was a very big thing. So, thank you Toby Keith. You are a patriot who will be missed. An American Soldier I'm just trying to be a father Raise a daughter and a son Be a lover to their mother Everything to everyone Up and at 'em bright and early I'm all business in my suit Yeah, I'm dressed up for success From my head down to my boots. I don't do it for the money There's bills that I can't pay I don't do it for the glory I just do it anyway Providing for our future's my responsibility Yeah, I'm real good under pressure Being all that I can be. And I can't call in sick on Mondays When the weekends been too strong I just work straight through the holidays And sometimes all night long You can bet that I stand ready When the wolf growls at the door Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady Hey I'm true down to the core. And I will always do my duty No matter what the price I've counted up the cost I know the sacrifice Oh, and I don't want to die for you But if dyin's asked of me I'll bear that cross with honor 'Cause freedom don't come free. I'm an American soldier, an American Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right I'm out here on the front lines Sleep in peace tonight American soldier, I'm an American soldier. Yeah, an American soldier, an American Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right I'm out here on the front lines So sleep in peace tonight American soldier, I'm an American ... an American ... an American soldier. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #4 When the Plains states out here in the panhandles burned up over 1 million acres in 2017, Toby Keith was the only big name to notice, and put out a wonderful support video. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2024-02-06 13:36 |
| #3 In memory of 'Tiny' and all those who gave their lives over Lockerbie, Scotland on 21 Dec 1988. May their sacrifice never be forgotten. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2024-02-06 12:40 |
| #2 There will always be the Army of the Old Republic. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2024-02-06 12:07 |
| #1 I'm afraid Biden's plan is to replace American soldiers with "immigrants". |
| Posted by: Abu Laptop (same as Abu Uluque but on a different computer.) 2024-02-06 12:06 |