While I was rushing by the old box caught my eye Inside there's an illustrious past All the medals behind the glass My father , a simple man made his living with his hands Who was this boy of seventeen who left to serve for our country's gleam ? The lad who rushed right in Saved a pilot that crashed in wind before the plane exploded in flame Thinking of his own safety was so lame His pilots , his planes , and his men This was a war of will to win
My father joined the Army in 1941 when he was seventeen just before Pear Harbor . He served as a mechanic the entire war of which he was honored to be Jimmy ****'s chief mechanic . Jimmy **** was the top American Ace of WW II , with 40 confirmed enemy aircraft shot down . One day a plane crashed landed on a return flight , knocking the pilot unconscious . Without hesitation my father rushed in and released the pilot and carried him to safety just seconds before the plane exploded . He received his first of twelve medals for his courageous action .