Posted on 03/10/2003 11:27:42 PM PST by JohnHuang2
Evoking the shocking Sept. 11 images of the crumbling World Trade Center Towers, a timely new song written to pay tribute to the U.S. military has struck a chord with Americans in support of war against Iraq.
"I hear people say we don't need this war. I say there's some things worth fighting for," begins the tune by country singer Darryl Worley. "They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in. Before you start your preaching let me ask you this my friend. Have you forgotten how it felt that day to see your homeland under fire and our people blown away? ... And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden. Have you forgotten?"
Worley co-wrote "Have You Forgotten?" with Wynn Varble in January after returning from a USO tour in Kuwait and Afghanistan.
"Being in a war zone with those American troops, seeing their selflessness and that they lay their lives on the line every day so we can have this lifestyle, this freedom and liberty - I had to do something in return. I didn't have a choice," Worley told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He subsequently introduced the song on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and earned standing ovations.
The emotional song gained instant recognition, debuting on Billboard's country singles chart at No. 41. It's the title track of an upcoming CD, due to be released April 15. But it's already getting play on country stations across the nation.
"It's the most requested song I've ever seen in the history of KILT," Jeff Garrison, operations manager and program director for KILT radio in Houston, told the Chicago Tribune. "We're playing it every two hours."
The record label Dreamworks offers listeners a chance to hear the song on its website.
The topical tune was written about the war on terrorism, but Worley doesn't mind that it has become the anthem for those thirsting for an answer to the voices of dissent.
"I'm not a war-loving person," Worley told the Inquirer. "I stand behind our president on this issue, for this war. I pray every day that we'll avoid this conflict, but I just see Hussein playing games and buying time."
Ironically, the song never mentions Saddam Hussein.
"In my thinking, Saddam Hussein is the next guy on the list who could be involved in terrorism against this country. I mean we have pictures of his people paying suicide bombers to blow themselves up in Israel," he said.
While popular, Worley's song is not without controversy. Many radio stations have refused to play it.
"They're communists," Worley quipped on the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" program last night.
"It's a pretty typical thing nowadays that consultants or programmers would control a number of stations and dictate what they play," he added.
One of Worley's lyrics harkens back to Toby Keith's angry post-9/11 hit "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue."
"Some say this country's just out looking for a fight. After 9-11, man, I'd have to say that's right," Worley sings.
Worley's is a lone voice in a chorus of opposition among musicians. Last month, David Byrne of the 1980s rock band Talking Heads formed a coalition called Musicians United to Win Without War.
The group, which includes a strong contingent of rappers, took out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times Feb. 26 that read: "War on Iraq is wrong and we know it." Forty-two artists, including Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Lou Read and R.E.M., endorsed the ad with their signatures.
"I had gotten to the point that I had to do something to ease my conscience," Byrne told the Los Angeles Times. "I felt like by not saying anything, I was being complacent. I also suspected that other musicians felt the same way."
Byrne's coalition is working on plans for an all-star, anti-war concert.
Raised in rural Hardin County, Tenn., Worley comes from a long line of musicians, according to the Dreamworks website.
"There were music teachers and traveling minstrels on my daddy's side," he recalls. "My Grandpa Jones, mom's father, played banjo, made moonshine whiskey and ran a nightclub called Oakdale. I started playing harmonica when I was five because of him. I think I picked up a guitar when I was eight or nine years old because my grandpa wanted us to learn. They all encouraged us to make music part of our lives."
Worley's long commitment to his passion is paying off. Last week, the Academy of Country Music Awards nominated him for best new male vocalist.
AO (Aviation Ordnanceman) Christopher Hernbrott, left, (Lakeland, FL) and AO (Jesus Almanza (Sun Valley, CA.) man a .50 cal machine gun on the fantail of the Lincoln. (March 10, 2003)
Darryl is on Sean Hannity's radio show NOW... taking questions from callers.
I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindler's List," asked myself, "Why didn't the Jews fight back?"
Now I know why.
I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself, "Why weren't we prepared?"
Now I know why.
Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people.
On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated their captors.
On September 11, thousands of innocent people were murdered because too many Americans naively reject the reality that some nations are dedicated to the dominance of others.
Many political pundits, pacifists and media personnel want us to forget the carnage. They say we must focus on the bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice of the killers. They implore us to understand the motivation of the perpetrators.
Major television stations have announced they will assist the healing process by not replaying devastating footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers.
I will not be manipulated.
I will not pretend to understand.
I will not forget.
I will not forget the liberal media who abused freedom of the press to kick our country when it was vulnerable and hurting.
I will not forget that CBS anchor Dan Rather preceded President Bush's address to the nation with the snide remark, "No matter how you feel about him, he is still our president."
I will not forget that ABC TV anchor Peter Jennings questioned President Bush's motives for not returning immediately to Washington, DC and commented, "We're all pretty skeptical and cynical about Washington."
And I will not forget that ABC's Mark Halperin warned if reporters weren't informed of every little detail of this war, they aren't "likely -- nor should they be expected -- to show deference."
I will not isolate myself from my fellow Americans by pretending an attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was not an attack on the United States of America.
I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications.
I will not be appeased with pointless, quick retaliatory strikes like those perfected by the previous administration.
I will not be comforted by "feel-good, do nothing" regulations like the silly, "Have your bags been under your control?" question at the airport.
I will not be influenced by so called,"antiwar demonstrators" who exploit the right of _expression to chant anti-American obscenities.
I will not forget the moral victory handed the North Vietnamese by American war protesters who reviled and spat upon the returning soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines.
I will not be softened by the wishful thinking of pacifists who chose reassurance over reality.
I will embrace the wise words of Prime Minister Tony Blair who told the Labor Party conference, "They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000, does anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in it?
There is no compromise possible with such people, no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror.
Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must!"
I will force myself to:
-hear the weeping
-feel the helplessness
-imagine the terror
-sense the panic
-smell the burning flesh
-experience the loss
- remember the hatred.
I sat in a movie theater, watching "Private Ryan" and asked myself, "Where did they find the courage?"
Now I know.
We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.
-- Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)
Not as lean, Not as mean, But still a Marine.
As is your #71 STL. Thank you for essay by Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)
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