TheGridNet
The Tulsa Grid Tulsa

Memorial Day perfect time to reflect on modern classic hymn ‘Mansions of the Lord’

The melody and lyrics will penetrate your soul and fill your heart with respect and gratitude for those who gave their last measure in service to us, says Michael Lapolla. On Memorial Day, a modern classic hymn titled ‘Mansions of the Lord’ was created in 2002 for the movie “When We Were Soldiers’ and performed by the West Point Glee Club. Randall Wallace was both the director and screenplay writer of the musical score, and when he heard the music, he thought it was special but needed lyrics. The production was a magical blend of voice, music and lyrics, and it has since become the signature performance of the Cadet Glee club and is played every day at the Arlington National Cemetery for full honor burials. Michael Lapolla, a graduate of West Point, is a veteran of the Iaangang War and a member of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame.

Memorial Day perfect time to reflect on modern classic hymn ‘Mansions of the Lord’

Published : 10 months ago by Michael Lapolla in

A meaningful observance of Memorial Day is challenging. Picnics, fireworks, boats and parades are not the answer. Nor is the day associated with religious services, Italians, minorities, presidents or pumpkin pie.

It is different from Veteran’s Day. It is unique. Memorial Day calls for reflection, solemnity, gratefulness and respect for all the dead in all our wars. How do we do that?

It has been 50 years since the Paris Peace Accords ended our involvement in Vietnam. Our troops and POWs came home. Years later, that war has quietly given us a perpetual gift that will help all of us observe Memorial Day.

That gift is a hymn titled “Mansions of the Lord.” I am certain only a few readers have heard it performed well, and fewer still know its origin. This is a story worth telling and knowing.

It was created in 2002 for the movie “When We Were Soldiers.” The movie depicted Lt. Col. Hal Moore’s battalion of the First Air Cavalry and the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. It was the first significant engagement in that war by U.S. troops.

Randall Wallace was both the director and screenplay writer. Nick Glennie-Smith wrote the musical score. When Wallace heard the music, he thought it was special but needed lyrics. He personally wrote three stanzas and 76 words. They were vocally performed well by contract singers, but he thought something was still missing. He said, “We need soldier’s voices.”

Moore told him, “You need the West Point Glee Club.”

The music production was brought to West Point. Wallace briefed the cadets about the making of the movie and the significance of the Ia Drang Valley. The cadets understood and were ready.

Their Glee Club director conducted the session , and the result was a magical blend of voice, music and lyrics. Wallace was ecstatic.

The “Mansions of the Lord” quickly captured the hearts of our military and was introduced to the world less than two years later when it was selected as the funeral recessional hymn for President Ronald Reagan at the National Cathedral. It has since become the signature performance of the Cadet Glee Club and is played every day at the Arlington National Cemetery for full honor burials.

It is now the hymn of choice for solemn military events.

A music producer said: “After listening to it over and over, I was moved by its reverent lyrics sung to a melody that healed a generation of soldiers so unjustly held in scorn and, at the same time, conveying a comforting eternal truth. What makes this hymn so special is that it is based on Scripture from the Gospel of John, Chapter 14.”

My favorite version of the “Mansions of the Lord” is played by the West Point Band and performed by the West Point Glee Club. The most majestic version is probably the Reagan funeral recessional. There are many others.

You can find video arrangements online at YouTube. Have the lyrics handy. Listen and reflect. The melody and lyrics will penetrate your soul and fill your heart with respect and gratitude for those who gave their last measure in service to us.

Both heart and soul will thank you. And you will have observed Memorial Day in a meaningful and memorable way.

“To fallen soldiers let us sing

Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing

Our broken brothers let us bring

To the Mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding, no more fight

No prayers pleading through the night

Just divine embrace, Eternal light

In the Mansions of the Lord

Where no mothers cry and no children weep

We will stand and guard though the angels sleep

All through the ages safely keep

The Mansions of the Lord”

Michael Lapolla is a graduate of West Point, veteran of the Ia Drang Valley campaigns of the Vietnam War, member of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame and Tulsa resident.


Topics: Holidays, Memorial Day

Read at original source