MWSA PCA Finalist 3 -- Freedom isn't Free -- J.R. Jellerson

I took inspiration from all four photos and tried to acknowledge each within the lyrics, since each photo speaks volumes of sacrifice and memories…

Vs. 1
It was Friday morning…the rain was fallin' down
Another true life hero…was headed for hallowed ground
Wrapped up in Old Glory…as the cart moved along
The Old Guard marched in cadence…an honored soldier's song
I can still recall what my…Grand-father said to me
Son when you grow to be a man…remember
Freedom isn't free.
Vs. 2
In his home hung pictures…a lifetime on the wall
Ninety years of memories…shadows walkin' down his hall
Once told me his fav-rit'…of him a younger man
On a hill high above the sea…with a rifle in his hand
In front of a flag they just raised…so those around could see
He told me too his proudest day…remember
Freedom isn't free.
Vs. 3
A photo caught my eye…by the den down the hall
It was hangin' down crooked…like it was going to fall
An old tin photograph…a young son in his father's arms
It didn't matter what color…was on his father's arm
The date down in the corner…was written 1863
A line there too was faded, still I could see…simply said
Freedom isn't free.
Instrumental:
Bridge:
Thru the years n' thru the wars…our family has fought and died
Thru all the generations…who have stood half mast and cried
We have watched the flags burning bright…when retired to another time
Just now I remember…my world torn apart in sixty-nine
Holdin' my brother's little girl's hand…as they brought her daddy home
Her mother too died in Vietnam…how she felt so lost and alone
And when I left to fight that war…
She smiled and said to me…
Uncle John, please come back …remember
Freedom isn't free.

MP3 Available at www.militarywriters.com/JRJellerson-Freedomisntfree.mp3
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Branson Veterans Week Slide Show

Many thanks to Larry Wikoff, our photographer. Larry was a Lt. in the Air Force during the Vietnam War -- an engineer who spent most of his time in service in California. It was his first time in Branson and he spent a great deal of it taking pictures for Pat and me. He was moved by the Sunchon Tunnel Massacre Survivors and their stories. He was thrilled to meet Judge Robert Decatur and George Boyd who were Tuskeegee Airmen. He loved the kindness of people like Steve Wehyer, Marlyce Stockinger and Arlen Lipper.

Larry and my husband Johnny were classmates during highschool in Jacksonville, Arkansas. They both went to the University of Arkansas and studied Electrical Engineering. They were roommates and friends. I first met them both in January, 1967. It was a blessing.

In 1970, when Johnny and I spent almost a year in Japan, we brought Larry back his first Minolta Camera. I'm sure he'd been interested in photography before, but this seemed to release his inner shutter bug.

I'm hoping that Larry will continue sharing his wonderful photographs with us.

Be sure to take a look at the slide show at http://www.rrpstorytellers.blogspot.com. It's in the upper right hand corner.

Joyce