If you would like to hear more of my music, you may visit www.IWillNeverGiveUp.com

Gratefully, Derek Clark

Check out the video and tell us your thoughts!

CPL JEREMY GRAHAM, AUSTRALIAN ARMY, 4TH RAR (CMDO) WAS LOST TO HIS
BROTHERS RECENTLY WHILE SERVING IN AFGHANISTAN. HE LEAVES BEHIND A WIFE AND
2 DAUGHTERS. THIS POEM IS WRITTEN FOR HIM.

FALLEN WARRIOR

A WARRIOR FELL TODAY
HOW HE IS REMEMBERED IS UP TO YOU
HOW WILL YOU REMEMBER HM?

WILL YOU REMEMBER THE WARRIOR?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE HUSBAND?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE FATHER?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE SON?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE BROTHER?
WILL YOU REMEMBER THE FRIEND?

THE WARRIOR STOOD BEFORE YOU
AND DEFLECTED DANGER BEFORE IT GOT TO YOU
HE DIDNT ASK FOR YOUR THANKS
HE DIDNT ASK FOR YOUR PRAISE
IT WAS SECOND NATURE TO HIM
THAT THIS DAY MIGHT HAPPEN WAS BEFORE HIM
AND STILL HE STOOD THERE

THE HUSBAND WAS THE MAN WHO LOVED HIS WIFE
HE TOO STOOD BEFORE HER AND DEFLECTED DANGER FROM HER
IT WAS SECOND NATURE TO HIM, HE DID IT WITHOUT THINKING
HER LOVE FOR HIM WAS ALL THE THANKS HE EVER NEEDED
HE LOVED TO MAKE HER HAPPY

THE FATHER WATCHED AFTER HIS CHILDREN
HE WATCHED THEM LIKE A WOLF PROTECTING ITS LITTER
DELIGHTING IN THIER SMILES AND LAUGHTER
HE ENJOYED PLAYING WITH THEM AND MAKING THEM HAPPY
HE MADE SURE THEY HAD THE BEST HE COULD AFFORD
GOING WITHOUT HIMSELF TO ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL
TEACHING THEM RIGHT AND WRONG, WATCHING THEM GROW

THE SON WAS THE MAN WHO MADE HIS PARENTS PROUD
HE WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR THEM
THEY REJOICED IN ALL HE DID, THEY HELPED HIM GROW
THEY WATCHED HIM TRANSFORM INTO A MAN RIGHT BEFORE THIER EYES
MOVING FROM BABY TO LITTLE BOY TO TEEN AND INTO MAN
HE LOVED SEEING HIS PARENTS HAPPY AND ALWAYS DID HIS BEST
WHAT HE WAS AND WHAT HE STOOD FOR MADE THEM PROUD

THE BROTHER WAS THE MAN WHO WATCHED AFTER HIS SIBLINGS
HE PLAYED WITH THEM AND BICKERED WITH THEM AS WELL
THEY DIDNT ALWAYS AGREE BUT THEY LOVED EACH OTHER
HE STRIVED TO HELP THEM, AND THEY STROVE TO HELP HIM
HE LOVED TO BE AROUND THEM AND MISSED THEM WHEN HE COULDNT BE THERE
THIER BOND NO ONE COULD BREAK

THE FRIEND WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU
YOU COULD COUNT ON HIM IN A PINCH
CALL HIM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND HE ALWAYS ANSWERED
HE WAS THERE WHEN YOU NEEDED A SHOULDER TO CRY ON
HE WAS THERE TO CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
HE BACKED YOU UP WHEN YOU GOT IN OVER YOUR HEAD
AND ASKED FOR NOTHING IN RETURN

WHICH PART OF HIM WILL YOU REMEMBER
I CHOOSE TO REMEMBER THEM ALL
EACH AND EVERY PART MADE HIM WHAT HE WAS
I NEVER MET HIM BUT A BROTHER TO ME HAS BEEN LOST
HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED
MY BROTHER HAS FALLEN BUT HE IS NOT FORGOT

JOE TOLEDO
SGT USMC 1987 – 1993
SGT US ARMY 1993 -2000

WHO AM I
I AM A SAILOR
I ENSURE THE WORLDS WATERS ARE SAFE
I PATROL AND DEFEND MY NATIONS COASTLINE

WHO AM I
I AM AN AIRMAN
I ENSURE THE WORLDS SKY’S ARE SAFE
I PATROL AND DEFEND MY NATIONS AIRSPACE

WHO AM I
I AM A MARINE
I AM MY NATIONS QUICK REACTION FORCE
I TAKE THE OBJECTIVE AND HOLD IT TIL RELIEVED

WHO AM I
I AM A SOLDIER
I DEFEND MY NATION FROM THOSE WHO ATTACK US
I TAKE THE OBJECTIVE AND HOLD IT TIL RELIEVED

I DONT ASK YOU TO UNDERSTAND
FOR I KNOW YOU NEVER TRULY WILL
THE SAYING SAYS THAT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR IT
FREEDOM HAS A TASTE THE PROTECTED WILL NEVER KNOW

I DO HOWEVER ASK THAT YOU RESPECT MY LIFE
AND WHAT I DID SHOULD I FALL WHILE DEFENDING MY COUNTRY
DONT USE ME FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL GAIN OR AGENDA
DOING SO CHEAPENS MY DEATH AND THE IDEALS FOR WHICH I DIED

I FIGHT, KILL AND DIE FOR YOU
THAT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO DO WHAT I HAVE HAD TO DO
THAT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO SEE WHAT I HAVE HAD TO SEE
THAT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO KILL ANOTHER AS I HAVE HAD TO

I DO NOT ENJOY KILLING
I DO NOT ENJOY WATCHING MY FRIENDS GET WOUNDED, MAIMED AND KILLED
I SURE AS HELL DO NOT ENJOY DIEING

I FEEL EVERY SINGLE DEATH OF A MILITARY MEMBER
THEY ARE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
EVERY TIME ONE OF THEM DIES I FEEL THE LOSS

TRY AND REMEMBER TO SAY THANK YOU AS YOU SEE ME WALK PAST AND
UNDERSTAND WHEN I SAY ITS NOT NECESSARY
I DO WHAT I DO BECAUSE I WANT TO
NOT BECAUSE SOMEONE MADE ME
I SAID I WOULD AND I WILL

WHO AM I
I AM YOUR BROTHER
I AM YOUR SISTER
I AM YOUR COUSIN
I AM YOUR SON
I AM YOUR DAUGHTER
I AM YOUR FRIEND
I AM A MEMBER OF THE ARMED SERVICES

JOE TOLEDO
SGT USMC 87 -93
SGT CA US ARMY 93-2000
SRGNTJOE@AOL.COM

I pray to God that you never have to watch your friends get wounded
I pray to God that you never have to watch your friends get maimed
I pray to God that you never have to watch your friends get killed

I pray to God that you never have to feel what its like to have a bullet enter your body
I pray to God that you never have to look at your leg and know you will never walk on it again
I pray to God that you never have to look at where your arm was and wonder where it is now

I pray to God that you never have to wonder if the medic is going to make it in time
I pray to God that you never have to wonder what you did wrong that got you shot
I pray to God that you never have to wonder if your actions got your friends killed

I pray to God that your parents never have to go through nights not knowing if you are alive
I pray to God that your parents never get that notice that you have been wounded
I pray to God that your parents never see that Notification team walking up the driveway
I pray to God that your parents never find out you were killed

By: JOE TOLEDO
SGT USMC 1987 – 1993
SGT US ARMY 1993 -2000

The uniform you wear today is different from the rest,
But reminds me of the other uniforms you’ve worn in the past.
You loved karate and sports, and worked so hard in Scouts.
All those little boy uniforms were put away much too fast.

I hear the flapping of the flag as it hangs there in the wind.
Again, I close my eyes and let the rhythm take me back.
There you are on stage with all the other kids from class;
Almost falling off the stand and giving me a heart attack.

When you were home on leave I’d sometimes hear you sing Cadence.
The words were different in your song but the voice was strong and clear.
You grew up and flew the nest even though I tried to hold on to you tight.
Wish I could have protected you more; could have kept you always near.

I hear the music drifting as if it’s coming from a far off land.
It’s way different from the rock and roll you’d have blasting in the car.
Sometimes I’d have to yell at you to turn your stereo down
But I wish I would of saved up all that noise in a jar to open up
And let some out in these quiet days when no one is around.

I hate that there is no more places that we must rush to be.
No more stages for you to walk across or sounds for you to make.
I hate I had to let you go and live so far away.
I hate an enemies’ bullet from you your life did take.

I pray you are in Heaven now with other soldier angels.
And as I try to leave vengeance in the hands of God,
I say to you, “You will never be forgotten, my son, my hero,
Even though you now rest beneath this sod.”

I will always love you…..

© Laurel Olmsted
6/22/2006
Dedicated to all our Heroes who will always be their mothers’ sons.
Proud Mom of Three–Grandmom to Five
Founder–Military Family Support Group
Chapter Writer–”Walking With Heroes”

TRACY – When Derek Clark strums his guitar this afternoon at the Fior
D’Italia restaurant in San Francisco, he expects tears to flow with the
lyrics he will sing.

Clark, a Tracy-based real estate and mortgage business owner, will be a
featured artist at a fund-raising event for Gold Star Family Members
hosted by KSFO-AM talk radio personality Melanie Morgan. The organization
is for relatives of slain military personnel in Iraq who are expected
to travel to the Middle East to meet and support American troops.

Clark, 35, will sing “Goodnight, Soldier,” a song he wrote about 18
months ago that has recently begun to receive airplay on KSFO and has been
widely distributed through e-mail and a Web site named after the song.
He said the inspiration for the song came from watching the acclaimed
HBO documentary “Letters from Home.” The recording includes his
5-year-old son, Montgomery, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and his
3-year-old son, Ozmond, saying “I Love America.”

“I felt inspired to write a song, and I think God helped me, because it
came to me in a matter of minutes. The words came in a stream like from
another world,” Clark said. “I remember the first time I sang it for a
family talent event, tears were rolling down my face.”

After a few early performances, Clark put the song back into a drawer
and almost forgot about it. About a month ago, however, locals paid
final respects to Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon Christopher Dewey who, at 20,
was killed by a suicide car bomber in Iraq’s Al-Anbar province. Dewey
was the fifth Tracy resident to die in Iraq.

Clark said he was touched by the funeral, and he could sense the words
to “Goodnight, Soldier” coming back to him.

“I felt it in my soul again,” he said.

He paid a friend to sing backup vocals, recorded the song in his home
studio and began sending it out to friends and family members via
e-mail. It gained the attention of Jim Sutherland, a Tracy-based Internet
marketing specialist, who grew up near military bases in the Middle East
and Europe. Sutherland’s father was a civilian contractor.

“The song sent shivers up my spine,” he said. “Right now, the project
was a snowflake that has turned into a snowball. I believe it will be an
avalanche.”

Sutherland sent the song to Morgan, a conservative talk radio host.
Within two days, Sutherland said Morgan had called him to receive
permission to play the song on KSFO during the morning commute. Morgan was
recovering from pneumonia this week and did not return calls.

“What’s been amazing is that talk radio is playing the song in its
entirety,” Sutherland said. “As a talk radio junkie, I can count the number
of songs played on talk radio on one hand.”

Meanwhile, the song has garnered attention among troops and family
members, Clark said. He has received numerous e-mails and even a couple of
streaming videos that were made to his lyrics and melody. He hopes more
will send pictures that he can add to the “Goodnight, Soldier” Web
site.» Kelli Germeraad of Vacaville wrote: “I cannot tell you the
tremendous amount of emotion that hit me as I listened to your song. … I was
an Air Force brat growing up in a small town in Idaho. … My husband,
Jake, is a combat veteran. He was in the first major offensive in
Vietnam, Operation Starlite. Over half of their unit was killed that day. He
watched many good men die.” » Kenneth Sherburne of the Air Force is
stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. He wrote: “Very few people show
how much they care for us and their country, and you are one of those
few. Thank you so much.”» Pvt. 1st Class Michael Walker wrote: “I am
currently overseas fighting with the 4th Infantry Division, with a wife
and three kids back home. I have passed this song on to several of my
fellow brothers in arms for them to listen to. I want to say thanks for
laying your heartfelt feelings out there for the world to hear. It takes
just as much courage to do that, as it does for some of us to do what
we do.”

Clark said the song is not about flag-draped coffins, but people simply
remembering that American troops are still fighting for liberty on a
daily basis while residents go on with their daily routines. He said the
song applies to veterans of any war, not just those serving in Iraq or
Afghanistan.

His goal is to perform “Goodnight, Soldier” in Washington, D.C., on
Veterans Day, Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.

“I’d like it to reach millions of people,” he said. PLEASE VISIT
WWW.GOODNIGHTSOLDIER.COM
Contact reporter Rick Brewer at (209) 833-1141 or rbrewer@recordnet.com

Throughout America’s battles, conflicts and wars, music and songs have inspired, comforted, and remembered those in our military.

From the marches of John Phillips Sousa, to the emotional words of Lee Greewood’s “God Bless the USA,” America’s military and their families can identify with the deep patriotic feelings expressed. For our military, many of these songs also express the pain of combat, of loss and the deep pride of service.

Recently, I heard such a song, one that reached to the deepest levels of emotion, a tribute from an average citizen who wishes to express his appreciation for the freedom he and his family enjoy because of the service of America’s military.

Derek Clark, a successful Tracy businessman, has struck a chord with a recent recording of “Good Nigh Soldier.” Clark, 35, recorded the song about 18 months ago after being inspired by the HBO documentary “Letters from Home.” After a few performances, Clark put the song back in a drawer and almost forgot about it. About a month ago, however, Tracy locals paid final respects to Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon Christopher Dewey who was killed in Iraq by a suicide bomber. Dewey is the fifth Tracy resident to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The moving funeral for Dewey touched Clark, and the words of the song kept coming back to him. Mainly distributed through the Internet and e-mail, the song was played in its entirety on a Bay Area morning radio talk show which has garnered the attention of troops and their families.

Derek has recently released a CD with the same title as the song, “Good Night Soldier.” The CD has tributes to our nation and is a tribute to fatherhood and to life. It is not your typical patriotism-filled CD. Regardless of that, “Good Night Soldier” is fast-becoming the new military anthem for those serving.

In a recent statement released on the “Good Night Soldier” Web site, Derek said, “When I wrote this song, the term soldier was intended for all the Armed Forces members, I wanted to show my appreciation to the United States Military for defending our beautiful country. One Nation, One Team.”

Thank you, Derek, for standing tall for America’s warriors, and their families. To listen to or obtain a copy of this CD log onto: www.goodnightsoldier.com.

GOOD NIGHT, SOLDIER – Derek Clark lives two lives: mortgage broker by day and singer-songwriter by night. The Tracy resident has strong Pleasanton ties, having attended school here in his youth and still staying in contact with family and friends here.

His sister-in-law, Ann Martin, told me last week that Clark wrote and recorded the song “Good Night, Soldier” 18 months ago, and it has taken off with the speed of an F-14 Tomcat. KSFO radio has featured the song, and Pleasanton Military Mothers are e-mailing it to their sons and daughters serving overseas.

Derek has received e-mail from appreciative soldiers all over the world, as well as from mothers who play it at bedtime for children whose fathers are deployed.

So what makes this song so special? Perhaps it is the voice of Derek’s 4-year-old reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and his 2-year old cheering, “Yes! I love America!” Or perhaps it’s the poignant lyrics that pull at your heartstrings.

Whatever the reason, the song has touched millions, and requests for personal appearances are rolling in. Clark recently performed at a military dinner in San Francisco and has been invited to Texas to help welcome home a battalion.
According to Martin, “For a good cry, log on to www.goodnightsoldier.com.” You can hear the song and view the video at the site and buy the CD for $10. Half of the proceeds from CD sales will be donated to support military families.

MARCH FOR THE TROOPS — The first annual “Support the Troops March-A-Thon,” hosted by Foothill High School’s Support the Troops Club, will take place Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Pleasanton Military Families Organization.
The 8-mile course begins and ends at the Foothill High School horseshoe. Water stations along the route are dedicated to branches of the armed services and will be manned by active members of the military.

The idea for the march came from club president Nick Christian, who started the club with student body president Elizabeth Usedom in November. Other club members include Tyler Galbraith, Sarah Fiala, Andrew Dibbern, Sam Hunter, Asia Bailey, Jacinda Lofland and Brad Hay. Christian doesn’t presently have family members in the military, but he wears the dog tags of his maternal grandfather who served in WWII. His paternal grandfather served in Korea and his stepfather served in Vietnam.

“The goal of the club is to promote an apolitical stance on the war in respect to the troops, to regard them as citizens of the U.S. with a very difficult job and to support them 100 percent in any way possible,” said Christian.

The club has held a few fund-raisers, including a dog tag fund-raiser and a T-shirt sale that raised $300. They are coordinating a student-to-troops letter-writing campaign and hosted a banquet for service families.

“It was an absolute success and, so far, one of the most moving (events) for me,” Christian said about the banquet. “The parents were so grateful and touched.”

For more information about Saturday’s March-A-Thon, to make a pledge, sign up to participate, or buy a T-shirt, call Foothill High School at 925-461-6600.
AVHS LIBRARY FUND-RAISER — Celebrate the arrival of spring, the culture of India and raise money for the Amador Valley High School Library — all at one event.

AVHS PTSA invites you to a “Holi Blast” from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Hearst Elementary School on Case Avenue. Holi, India’s traditional spring celebration, is an active, joyful event where everyone chases each other while throwing brightly colored powder and water at each other. Authentic Indian snacks and entertainment will be provided.

Participants are encouraged to wear old clothes, bring their own water guns and be prepared to laugh and have fun! Tickets are $5 per person and $10 per family. To purchase tickets, call 925-734-5015 or e-mail holiblast@bayhomeconnect.com.