C. Douglas Caffey

I REMEMBER HIM WELL
(A 62 year-old Memory on a Hospital Ship: Classical Guitar by Johnny Dasoulas)

Yes, I remember him well
As if it were yesterday;
He played guitar
as we sailed for Frisco Bay.

The war was over and
On a hospital ship
We were headed for home;
Our last major trip.

And on the deck
A wounded Airman stood,
Playing a classical guitar
The best that he could.

‘Round him gathered
Men in medical gear;
Crowding near him
So they could hear.

He made that Guitar
Talk about the war,
Of Island battles won
And Stateside we were for.

I can see him there today
And hear the music say;
We’re going from the war
Back to our homes to stay.

Some of us had never heard
A Classical guitar
In the hands of an expert
Who had sailed this far.

And never since that day,
In the deep Pacific Sea,
Have I felt the music
To be such a part of me!

I have often wondered
the whereabouts of Jonny D,
Who played such sweet music
While on the Pacific Sea.