Our Brother John

He left Ireland in nineteen fifty two Our brother John the man I barely knew He was the eldest of the family And the Homeland he was never more to see. In life our brother John he journeyed far He lived through peace time and he lived through war In Korea with the Air Force of the U.S.A. Far distant from the fields of Claraghatlea. One of my sisters Mary wrote to me She said our brother died with dignity In death as in his life he showed his bravery And at least now of his sufferings he's free. Our brother John left two sons and a wife And he worked hard all of his working life Only in his sixties he seemed young to die He was my hero when I was a boy. From Millstreet thousands of sea miles away Our brother John in a distant graveyard lay And though I'd not seen him for more than thirty years The news of his passing reduced me to tears. He was the quiet man never spoke too loud And of our brother John we felt so proud In his death from his sufferings he found his release And may he rest forevermore in peace.