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This year we are presenting two different songs to honor our veterans. The "About The Show" tab tells the nights these songs play.
The first song, Soldiers Silent Night which is currently playing, is Mannheim Steamroller's Stille Nacht and includes a poem
written by Lance Corporal James Schmidt in 1987 under the title "Merry Christmas, My Friend". The poem is narrated by
Father Ted Berndt a priest at Bread of Life Charismatic Episcopal Church in Dousman, Wisconsin, a proud Marine,
and a WWII Purple Heart recipient.
The song and poem were recorded in one take. The recording received a national A.I.R. (Achievement in Radio) award from the
March of Dimes and continues to be played in radio stations across the country. At the bottom of this page you will find the words
to this poem.
Father Berndt passed away March 19th, 2004 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. According to his daughter, "All he ever wanted to do was touch lives...to make a difference. We are blessed to share "A Soldier's Silent Night" with you this Christmas."
If you would like to download the audio recording as an mp3 file, this is the link:
(Right click on this link and select "Save Target As..." to copy the file to your computer.)
The second song, is titled "Veterans Tribute". While at the National Mall in Washington DC we had the honor of talking to
many of the veterans heard in the song. These veterans fought in WWII, Korea, VietNam and Iraq. We then placed their stories
to patriotic music. To learn more about these veterans, you can scroll down the page past the picture of the Veterans Tribute.
To hear this song you can play the mp3 file above or watch the video below.
We hope that when you listen to either of these songs, you will remember those who protect and serve our country during the
Christmas season. It is because of their service that we can FREELY celebrate the Christmas season.
The following is a video of the Veterans Tribute. To play the video, first stop the song above, then click the play button below.
Pictures of the 2011 Veterans Memorial
Picture of the 2010 Veterans Memorial
About the Veterans:
James O'Donnell of Indianapolis, IN served on the USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser, for 14 months during WWII.
He worked in the boiler room and worked on the ships engines. He served on the ship at Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, Japan and Okinawa
where a Kaikaze suicide plane hit the ship and severely damaged it. In July 1945 the USS Indianapolis delivered to Tinian island two large
boxes which included the parts for the atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima. After dropping off the boxes the ship was hit by two
torpedoes and sank in 12 minutes. Mr O'Donnell jumped off the ship a couple minutes before it sank. Of the 1,197 men on board
800-900 floated in the water for up to 5 days. They stayed in groups to defend themselves from the many sharks which circled them.
Some sailors would hallucinate and swim away from the group never to be seen again. Others would drink the salt water and die within hours.
And others would be victims of the shark attacks. When rescued on the 5th day, only 317 men had survived. WWII ended 2 weeks later.
We met Mr. O'Donnell at his home in Indianapolis.
David Padia of Victoria, TX is a veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam. During WWII he fought in the Battle of the Bulge
and became a prisoner of war. We met Mr. Padia and his family while they were visiting the Korean memorial in Washington D.C.
Boyce Klutts of Greenwood, IN served in WWII in 1943. He was stationed in London as part of the 390th bomb group and was a gunner
on a B17. On his 35th mission his plane was shot down over Wurzburg Germany. He was captured and served in stalag 4 near the Polish
border. He was there for 2 months when the Germans had to move them due to the allied advances. His group marched for 86 days and
covered 600 miles until they ran into an English force which liberated them. He stated the march was much worse than the prison camp.
We met Mr. Klutts at his retirement home in Greenwood.
Rod Ingram served in WWII in 1944 as a member of the 393rd infantry. He arrived in Germany around Thanksgiving and fought in the
Battle of the Bulge and the Bridge at Remagen where he was part of the first division to cross the Rhine river into Germany. His group was
called the "battle babies" because after going thru specialized training they were shipped immediately to the battlefront. During the Battle of the
Bulge in December 1944, he slept in a fox hole for a whole month and had to endure the constant snow which fell. This battle resulted in
70,000 casualties, 19,000 deaths and was the single largest and bloodiest battle of WWII. We met Mr. Ingram and his wife at the WWII memorial.
We met Mr. Ingram at the WWII memorial in Washington D.C.
William F Harvey was a lieutenant in the Navy during the Korian War in 1950 in and served on the aircraft carrier USS Boxer.
During his tour his ship launched and retrieved over 2,000 aircraft. He also served during the initial conflict in IndoChina prior to the
VietNam war. He was Dean and Professor of Law at Indiana Univerity Law School from 1973-1979. A very dear friend of his is former
Governor Edgar Whitcomb who was a prisoner and escaped from Corregidor during WWII. We met Mr. Harvey at Arlington National Cemetary.
SGT O'Gratten of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, US Army, was the assistant commander of the relief at the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetary in Washington DC. We met Sgt O'Gratten at Arlington National Cemetary.
Wilbur VanBus served with 2nd division, 38th Infantry, Company E in the Korean War. During March of 1953 he was on his
5th patrol when he came under fire. Because of the fierce fire his unit withdrew. Several days later when his troops returned to get the
casualties he was found near death and barely alive. Due to his wounds he lost his sight. We met Mr. VanBus at the Korean Memorial at
Washington D.C.
Richard Passarelli, Major, US Army, served with the 2nd support brigade in Saigon from 1965-1966 during the VietNam War.
He was very proud to be part of the 7th Finance section located in Consenuit Air Force base, Saigon. We are very proud of you Uncle Dick!
Chief Eric Chandler, US Navy served in Iraq in 2006-2007. He was located in camp Bucco Iraq which was a detention facility where
over 13,000 prisoners were held during the war. Eric was sailor of the year for the east coast and volunteered to serve in Iraq. His unit was
called the "sand pirates". Eric is our son in law and we are very proud of him.
Sutan A Mohammad is the regimental Command Sergeant Major of the Ordnance Corp. He has served twice in Iraq and twice in Afghanistan.
We met Mr. Mohammad at the WWII memorial at Washington D.C.
A Soldier's Silent Night lyrics.
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY;
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
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Veterans Tribute
