This collection of songs spans the period from the Civil Was through the Vietnam War. I have started the collection with Here I Am, Lord, ( Isaiah 6:8) because I believe it applies not only to the last scene in Brad Pitts's film "Fury," but to all soldiers throughout history who have gone to war at the bidding of their governments, whether they wanted to fight or not, and displayed incredible courage under fire. There are many unsung heroes in those wars, and I dedicate this song to them all. Over Yondro (He's Gone Away) and Shenandoah are from the Civil War. If I Were the Only Girl in the World and They Didn't Believe Me (featuring tenor Manfred Dreilich) are from World War I. Then I chose some of the great songs from the period between the two World Wars and during World War II. My favorite is They Can't Take That Away From Me. I included a Russian folk song, Evening Bells, because the Soviet Union was our ally during World War II, and lost more soldiers and civilians than any other country. Sentimental Journey is from the Korean War era. I recall an episode of MASH in which one of the doctors played it over and over and was madly in love with Doris Day.. The Seventh Dawn is from a film by the same name, dealing with the Communist insurgency that took place in Malaysia during the Cold War. Waltzing Matilda, the Australian "nation anthem," was the theme song of the film "On the Beach." I saw this movie when I was in school in Cocoa, Florida, and I still think about the chilling possibility of a worldwide nuclear holocaust. Since I grew up near Cape Canaveral and Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, and lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, a nuclear war was a very real possibility for me. Next there are a number of my favorite songs from the Cold War period, during which the people of the United States began to be more inclusive of people from other countries, cultures races, and religions. It was also a period when narcotics began to be a national problem. The film "Valley of the Dolls" and the song by the same name is a haunting witness to the devastating effects of narcotics in our society. The 1950s was when most of us were finally getting televisions. Programming was sparse, and featured 15 minute segments by recording artists. One of them was Nat King Cole. I've included several of his great songs. In the seventies, country western became popular. Many family automobiles, including my very conservative father's, began to include citizen ban radios, once used only by truckers. So I included a few songs representative of that phenomenon. Then I turn to the Vietnam War. Cavatina, from "The Deer Hunter," begins with Barber's Adagio for Strings, the theme from "Platoon." What a Wonderful World featured with so many great songs in "Good Morning Vietnam" ends with the theme from "Forrest Gump." The scenes that accompanied What a Wonderful World in the movie changed my reaction to the song forever. I followed with some songs from the Vietnam and post-Vietnam periods, ending with Smile and O, America. As always, in songs with harmony, I sing all the parts, even bass! Manfred Dreilich arranges all the songs, beautifully. Some explanation of the photos I included on the album cover is called for. My father, Clarence Wesley Gilliland, Jr., was in the 9th Armored Division and fought in the battle for the bridge at Remagen. His two brothers were Charles "Chuck" Gilliland and Jack Dewberry Gilliland. Jack joined the RAF as part of the 121st Eagle Squadron before the United States entered the war. His ship to England was torpedoed by the Nazis and he and a few of his mates managed to survive in a raft before being rescued. Then his Spitfire went down in heavy fog in Ipswich England. He is buried in an RAF cemetery outside of London. If you visit London, you can find a monument to the pilots of the Eagle Squadrons in Grosvenor Square. If you look closely, you will find his name. Chuck Gilliland was stationed in Greenland and the Arctic as a geologist. After the war, he continued as a geologist in the US Geological Survey. My voice coach, arranger, and friend, Manfred Dreilich is the son of a German soldier who was drafted into the German army and sent to the Eastern Front. Oskar Dreilich was captured by the Soviet Union and sent to a gulag, where he was imprisoned for ten years. In 1965, Chancellor Adenauer of Germany negotiated the release of all Germany soldiers still being held by the Soviet Union. Manfred's father then married his brother's widow, and immigrated to the United States. His son, Manfred, went on to study piano and voice at the University of Michigan, sang in the Michigan State Opera, and eventually came to be the minister of music at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Melbourne, Florida. Manfred is a gifted musician, singer, and arranger, but most of all a gifted voice instructor to whom I owe so much. I took the photo on the first CD in Normandy at the American Cemetery. I took the photo on the second CD of the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, at night. The photo of my son Reece and my husband Ed was taken at Ground Zero in Nagasaki, Japan. The picture of the bluff and beach is Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, where the US lost so many brave soldiers but eventually prevailed. I hope all of you will enjoy my music and choice of songs, especially those of you who lived through the times the songs represent. Love, Susie