Always Remember Not Too Forget (Honoring Cheryl Fields)

My father was a veteran
Back in World War II
A child of the Holocaust
Like so many American Jews
My family came from Montreal
I was born in New York
From the Atlantic Ocean
To the California coast

One of the first people I met
Worked in a handbag shop
He repaired luggage
He impressed me a lot
His name was Leopold Page
He compiled Schindler’s List
That he signed and he gave
To me as a gift

Always remember not too forget

After that, came the Sixties
My Johnny went off to war
Though I didn’t meet him
Until after he came home
One of three survivors
Held captive in a pit
Took out the guards and he ran
When the trip wire was hit

Always remember not too forget

An old man in young man’s body
From fighting in rice paddies
That were poisoned
By our government knowingly
Sprayed down upon my Johnny
The most toxic substance known
By the name of Agent Orange
That slowly killed him
when he came home

Always remember not too forget

Laugh and be happy
My Johnny’s favorite phrase
Through the night terrors
and flashbacks
That would knock him out for days
From Vietnam to Afghanistan
Post-Traumatic Stress
Together, we raised two children
Fought for all the Vets

Always remember not too forget

My father was a veteran
Back in World War II

Words & Music by Larry Long
Copyright Larry Long Publishing 2015 | BMI

*Lyrics collectively written with youth from St. Louis Park, Minnesota through Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song. Inspired by Cheryl Fields

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