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 .