This guy, I claim as my big brother

John Andrew was his given name,

Born in Coppell during World War I

A healthy baby boy he was to become.

To the city one day we moved

All too soon, school days approached,

O. M. Roberts was his first school

Kindergarten class, he was dispatched.

John was 9, we moved from the city

Country living was really "cool".

Across the highway was Grove Hill

Now to find a country grade school.

A one-room school he had attended

It's name was Bayles on Hwy 80,

First thru seventh grades they had

Two teachers were all that he coud see.

He graduated; then off to high school

To Buckner Home where he en-rolled,

Outsiders and orphans were his friends

Many friends in memory he inscrolled.

I was a senior in Mesquite High

When Uncle Sam called John to serve,

In the Armed Forces of these United States

To protect the Freedom that, we the people, deserve.

"Twas Monday, December 1, 1941

My father, mother and I,

Drove John north to his draft board

There we said "God speed and Good-bye".

From Highland Park at Mockingbird and Preston

Back home we drove, my father, mother and I

Back to school I went on Tuesday

Proud of John, I could not deny.

The following Sunday was a tragic day

Bombing of Pearl Harbor that early morn

FDR made his most famous speech

"...live in infamy" and we, the people, mourn.

After induction, he got to choose

To be in the Army or the Army Air Corp,

The latter he chose for he liked the planes

Logo patches of the Corp, he proudly wore.

Soon he was stationed close to home

Off to skating rinks we fled,

There John met this red-headed twin

One day in Oak Cliff, the two were wed.

'Twas July 1945 when

John got his orders to ship out,

Across the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

Thru the Suez to the Indian Ocean, no doubt.

Soon Peace came to all the world

September 2, 1945, was the peace declaration,

But the soldiers' ship kept sailing on

To India was its final destination.

In Calcutta, John laid around

They flew the "hump" to China's high country,

John said it's cold but soon the men

Flew back to Calcutta for a ship was their plea.

Five months the men sat and waited

For a ship to take them all back home,

Soon that long a-waited day came

Eager to board and nevermore to roam.

I remember it well, when

In the US of A, our men came on shore,

It was in January 1946

John was finally discharged from the Air Corps.

Thru all 4-plus years, My brother was safe

Back to his Bonnie, the gal he had wed,

Went to work in a sheet metal shop

Owned by his friend, he's always had.

Often I'd leave early from the CPA firm

To drop by the shop and just simply walk in,

From a distance, I'd watch him work

Until he would notice his men with a grin.

I guess you could say he had one hobby

He liked to go fishing in his own little boat,

Always fishing for the one big catch

This was his last photo, so please take note.

'Twas on a Friday, my last surprise visit

He gave me a hug; he was glad to see me

For that was the evening his heart gave out

Still I dream of my brother, don't you see?