He came home to Tennessee,
a young man at the end of forty -five
Only one of seven men in his platoon
that made it back alive
He must have seen some tough times,
but he never talked too
much about all that
Put his pictures and his memories
in the cedar chest
Everything but his old army hat
By the time I graduated,
the winds of change had
blown across our land
They were burning flags and draft cards
when they bothered to take
some kind of stand
And we used to laugh at Grandpa
like he was some old relic from the past
Cause he never left the house
lest he was wearing
That funny looking worn out army hat
Every eye was on him
Anytime that he went anywhere
They whispered and they pointed
But you could tell that Grandpa didn't care
I ain't wearing this for them, he said
It's a whole lot more than that
For my bud dies who gave everything
the least that I could do
Is keep on wearin' this old army hat
He called me up one morning
Said he'd seen it on the
news on his TV
They've opened up a
monument to World War II
in Washington, D .C. I ain't gettin' any younger,
and I wish someone would take me to see that
I couldn't help but think
they're gonna laugh at you up there
If you show up in that silly army hat
Two strangers both saluted
as grandpa walked up to the monument
One said thank you soldier
for a job well done,
the other said amen
And a young boy said sir my daddy went
to war and never made it back
Would you take a picture
standing here beside me?
And maybe let me wear your army hat
Every eye was on him
And there was not a dry one in the crowd
They whispered and they pointed
And Grandpa stood up extra tall and proud
He said, son, just keep it
When the young boy tried his best
to give it back
You're a brave little soldier, son
And every soldier needs
His very own authentic army hat
For your daddy who gave everything
The least that I can do
Is pass on this old worn -out army hat
Oh, for spacious skies,
for amber waves of grain,
for purple mountain majesties
above the fruited plain.
America, America,
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
you