Verse 1 My name is Lieutenant Colonel William Todd. I flew the 101st Airborne in '42. You may think that you've met veterans like me before, But you don't have a clue. Verse 2 I flew Korea in the war you probably forgot. I gave 40 years of damn near all I got. I watched some of my closest friends die on foreign land. I still hear their screams at night. Chorus So don't you wipe away my tears. I've earned them through all the years. Just let 'em roll down like a stream upon a hill. Let my tears be still. Verse 3 I met Jean Ann in a photograph in '44. I swore she'd be the girl to take my last name. 52 years passed til the Lord took her away, But I still see Jean everyday. Verse 4 At the end of my rope as I lay here in this bed. Thoughts and prayers of my family circle through my head. I pray when the Lord opens up the pearly gates wide That I'll see my Jean standing there in the light