{"id":20593,"date":"2025-07-08T12:02:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T12:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593"},"modified":"2025-07-08T12:02:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T12:02:21","slug":"at-100-years-old-most-people-are-looking-back-but-for-this-wwii-veteran-its-about-passing-something-forward-a-story-a-legacy-a-truth-wrapped-in-melody-in-a-powerful-new-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593","title":{"rendered":"At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"caption\">100-year-old veteran Don Graves survived the Battle of Iwo Jima, and now he\u2019s written a song about his experience, titled \u201cThe Sand of Iwo Jima.\u201d Pictured here, from left, are Frank Myers, songwriter; John Rich; Jason Sever, songwriter; Don Graves, WWII veteran; and Lee Greenwood. (Photo credit: Frank Myers \/ Facebook)<\/div>\n<div class=\"bands-in-town\">\n<div id=\"amplified_100006787\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-don-graves-ballad-is-a-celebration-of-the-greatest-generation\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don Graves\u2019 Ballad Is A Celebration Of The Greatest Generation<\/h2>\n<p>For many years now, retired Corporal Don Graves has been singing patriotic songs at concerts and sporting events, but now, at 100 years old, he has written a song of his own.<\/p>\n<p>Signing his record deal with BMI in May, country stars\u00a0John Rich\u00a0and\u00a0Lee Greenwood\u00a0were enlisted to sing Graves\u2019 song, titled \u201cThe Sand of Iwo Jima.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><ins id=\"982a9496-c47953716ae2e75085cef8e8cf1dbdb6-3-8159\" class=\"982a9496\" data-key=\"c47953716ae2e75085cef8e8cf1dbdb6\"><ins id=\"982a9496-c47953716ae2e75085cef8e8cf1dbdb6-3-8159-1\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1734579518157-0\" data-google-query-id=\"CK-Q5bebrY4DFReW_QcduY8FKw\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/21715635079\/zmedia_MB_Inread_litaupdate.com_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/ins><\/ins><\/div>\n<p>Graves has a unique distinction as a living survivor of the Battle of Iwo Jima, serving as a flamethrower operator in the famed World War II battle which foreshadowed the Allied victory in the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p>His song tells some of his story, and now everyone can hear it.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-hear-don-graves-story-in-song\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hear Don Graves\u2019 Story In Song<\/h2>\n<p>Shared on YouTube by one of the song\u2019s cowriters, Frank Myers, \u201cThe Sand of Iwo Jima\u201d is set to a video of the song being recorded at Starstruck Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n<p>We see\u00a0Graves signing his record deal contract\u00a0and speaking with some local press, but we also see the recording process, with John Rich and Lee Greenwood singing in the booth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJason Sever and I wrote this song with him and for his 100th birthday he was brought to Nashville to record it,\u201d Myers wrote on YouTube. \u201cA special thank you to John Rich and Lee Greenwood for surprising him that day and singing the song! May God bless Don Graves and all our warriors who have fought for freedom around the world for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-6\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Listen to the song, here:<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rll-youtube-player\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JfmAeVXgOL0\" data-id=\"JfmAeVXgOL0\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\" data-alt=\"The Sand Of Iwo Jima (The Don Graves Story)\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JfmAeVXgOL0?autoplay=1&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In the song, a picture of life leading up to the song\u2019s titular battle is painted.<\/p>\n<p>Describing the Japanese volcanic island of Iwo Jima as\u00a0<em>\u201ca patch of dirt out in the ocean that Roosevelt had to have,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0John Rich can be heard singing of the bloodshed that island would see on February 19, 1945.\u00a0<em>\u201cWe lost 7,000 men there, so six could raise that flag.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The chorus proudly declares:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cWe fought for our freedom, we fought for the flag, we fought for each other, and we had each other\u2019s backs. I still pray for my brothers that made that sacrifice on the sand of Iwo Jima in 1945.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Then, Lee Greenwood, with his knack for communicating stories through song, sings about the world Graves had grown up in before leaving for war. Even with the Great Depression, Graves\u2019 song sings of how that struggle made him and his peers from the greatest generation stronger.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of the song, Rich and Greenwood come together, singing Graves\u2019 words,\u00a0<em>\u201cI still see those soldiers\u2019 faces, I still hear their battle cries.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-more-about-don-graves\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">More About Don Graves<\/h2>\n<p>In a\u00a0photo series\u00a0on World War II veterans done by photographer D. Clark Evans, Graves shared that he had dropped out of high school when he was 17 in 1942 so that he could join the Marines, just like his father had done before him.<\/p>\n<p>Leading up to the battle that would mark his life, he was stationed in New Zealand and, later, in the states before being deployed to Japan.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cI landed in the third wave on February 19 at 8 in the morning. On the beach, we knew this wasn\u2019t going to be easy; we couldn\u2019t move, we couldn\u2019t get up. Guys were getting killed. Every time they\u2019d go over the top, they\u2019d drop. I was on the beach at least two hours. It took us three days to go 540 feet to Suribachi \u2014 inch by inch, foot by foot, shell hole by shell hole.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He even remembers some of the horrors of war, sharing:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cOn the morning of the third day, we finally made it to the foot of Suribachi and had a grenade fight going up. I burned out a few pill boxes. I saw one Jap going into a pill box and yelled at him. All of a sudden, he came out. He had a beautiful uniform on and a beautiful sword. I thought, this guy is going out in style. He looked at me, had something in his hand, then boom! He was gone; there was nothing left of him. It took us all day to climb Suribachi.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>According to a\u00a0spotlight\u00a0on Graves done for the\u00a0Christian Broadcasting Network, after the war, Graves moved back home to Detroit, where he married Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>He recalls struggling to adjust to civilian life, and nearly ruining his marriage as he began drinking. However, seeing a film of a Billy Graham sermon in 1954 changed his life.<\/p>\n<p>Both he and his wife became Christians, and he said,\u00a0<em>\u201cI fell in love with the Bible. I just fell in love with that blessed book. [God] put me in the ministry for 32 years. Had a great time and I worked hard.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Reflecting his inner change, Graves then became a minister.<\/p>\n<p>Together, he and his wife Rebecca had four children.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca passed away in 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>100-year-old veteran Don Graves survived the Battle of Iwo Jima, and now he\u2019s written a song about his experience, titled \u201cThe Sand of Iwo Jima.\u201d Pictured here,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations. -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations. -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"100-year-old veteran Don Graves survived the Battle of Iwo Jima, and now he\u2019s written a song about his experience, titled \u201cThe Sand of Iwo Jima.\u201d Pictured here,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-08T12:02:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/511997409_122161418168383119_550180122284629950_n-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"administrator\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"administrator\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593\",\"name\":\"At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations. -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/511997409_122161418168383119_550180122284629950_n-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-08T12:02:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-08T12:02:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/511997409_122161418168383119_550180122284629950_n-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/511997409_122161418168383119_550180122284629950_n-1.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06\",\"name\":\"administrator\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"administrator\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/new50.info\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations. -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations. -","og_description":"100-year-old veteran Don Graves survived the Battle of Iwo Jima, and now he\u2019s written a song about his experience, titled \u201cThe Sand of Iwo Jima.\u201d Pictured here,...","og_url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593","article_published_time":"2025-07-08T12:02:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/511997409_122161418168383119_550180122284629950_n-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"administrator","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"administrator","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593","name":"At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations. -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/511997409_122161418168383119_550180122284629950_n-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-08T12:02:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-08T12:02:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/511997409_122161418168383119_550180122284629950_n-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/511997409_122161418168383119_550180122284629950_n-1.jpg","width":900,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20593#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new50.info\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"At 100 years old, most people are looking back. But for this WWII veteran, it\u2019s about passing something forward\u2014a story, a legacy, a truth wrapped in melody. In a powerful new country song penned with the help of rising Nashville songwriters, the centenarian shares his memories of love, loss, and brotherhood from the battlefield to the front porch. With a voice weathered by time but steady with purpose, he sings, \u201cI still remember every name.\u201d The result? A song that\u2019s not just music\u2014it\u2019s living history, and it\u2019s striking a deep chord across generations."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06","name":"administrator","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"administrator"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/new50.info"],"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20593"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20593"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20595,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20593\/revisions\/20595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}