About "Standin' Tall"...

November 2002 marked the 20th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

"Standin' Tall" opens slowly and begins with the speaking of three names that are among those listed on The Wall. They are: Anderson, Martinez, Zapolski.

I had three reasons for choosing these names. First, the names are an alphabetical representation of A-Z, thereby inferring inclusion of every name listed on the Wall. Secondly, these names represent some of the different ethnicities of those who served in the military forces that went to Vietnam. Third, while the surnames of Anderson and Martinez have heavy representation on the Wall, there is only one Zapolski. My intent with that was to remind us that each name listed on the Wall represents a single, unique human being whose absence is keenly felt by those who loved him/her. Someone has lost a husband, a father, a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a friend. The loss of more than 58,000 Americans is not just a cold, faceless statistic. The loss of anyone's life is always a tragedy.

The names spoken in the middle of the song also represent ethnic diversity, with both multiple and single representation.

I hope that this song can be seen as a song of hope for the Vietnam veterans alive today, helping them to deal with their still present grief. Not all of the vets can literally "stand" because of their war wounds. But, all of them can surely "stand" in their heart, with their head held high, knowing that they did what their country asked, even demanded of them, in a very dark moment of this world's history.

Lyrics to "Standin' Tall"

The story about the song, I Am An American

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