Taylor Swift had at all times needed to write down a track to honor the army service of a person who died a couple of months earlier than her ninth birthday.
Archie Dean Swift Jr., who served as a medic within the U.S. Marine Corps throughout World Battle II, by no means bought to see his granddaughter obtain a stage of success and recognition few have, however his dedication to his nation caught together with her. Swift honored her grandfather’s service on the Battle of Guadalcanal with the one “Epiphany” in 2020.
“He died after I was very younger, however my dad would at all times inform this story that the one factor that his dad would ever say concerning the battle was when any individual would ask him, ‘Why do you’ve such a constructive outlook on life?'” Swift informed Leisure Weekly in a 2020 interview. “My grandfather would reply, ‘Properly, I am not presupposed to be right here. I should not be right here.'”
Written through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Epiphany” explores the same feelings skilled by troopers throughout battle and health-care employees on the entrance strains of the worst well being emergency they’ve ever seen.
Swift, who co-wrote the 4½-minute hymn with producer and musician Adam Dessner, conceived of the track after watching documentaries about docs and nurses treating COVID sufferers.
“I wrote it about health-care employees who’re placing themselves in danger greater than anybody else and don’t have a alternative,” Swift mentioned in an interview with Rolling Stone.
The inspiration for “Epiphany,” although, was rather more private.
Archie Dean Swift Jr. was born in 1914 in Ridgway, Pennsylvania (about 120 miles northeast of Pittsburgh) and performed varsity lacrosse at Princeton College. Nicknamed “Swifty” lengthy earlier than his granddaughter’s legions of followers adopted that moniker as their very own, Archie left throughout his junior 12 months of faculty to simply accept a banking job in Philadelphia, then enlisted as a personal within the Marines in 1938. By the point he separated from the army in 1953, Archie had achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Taylor may by no means have discovered about what Archie skilled throughout WWII if not for the efforts of his three sons. (Taylor’s father, Scott, was the youngest.) As a result of Archie hardly ever mentioned what he went by way of, they researched his service and found their father was current not solely through the Battle of Guadalcanal — a bloody six-month conflict between Allied and Japanese forces within the Solomon Islands that started in August 1942 — but in addition for the Battle of Okinawa two years later.
“He had seen numerous heavy fireplace and casualties — all the issues that nightmares are manufactured from,” Swift informed EW.
Roughly 44,000 Allied troops, together with 11,000 Marines, fought on the Battle of Guadalcanal, additionally known as the Guadalcanal Marketing campaign. Whereas the Allies in the end prevailed and Guadalcanal proved to be a turning level within the Pacific, the losses have been substantial on each side.
Roughly 7,100 Allied troops have been killed, together with greater than 1,100 Marines, and 29 ships and 615 plane have been destroyed — in comparison with the lack of 31,000 troops, 38 ships and 683 plane for the Japanese.
Whereas “Epiphany” has given a voice to the plight of beleaguered health-care employees, it additionally has resonated with the army group. After a video of the track was posted on YouTube, one commenter mentioned, “As a firefighter and a veteran, this track means all the things to me.” One other chimed in, “As a infantry soldier who did not serve in WW2 however within the Middleeast, it is very relatable and why I am a 36 12 months outdated veteran and a 15 12 months Taylor fan.”
Archie Dean Swift died in 1989 on the age of 83. Three many years later, his granddaughter was within the midst of changing into a pop-culture phenomenon when she sat down to write down the track that ensures his service gained’t be forgotten.
Maintain your helmet, preserve your life, son
Only a flesh wound, this is your rifle
Crawling up the seashores now
“Sir, I feel he is bleeding out”
And a few belongings you simply cannot talk about
— Stephen Ruiz may be reached at stephen.ruiz@army.com.
Maintain Up With the Finest in Navy Leisure
Whether or not you are searching for information and leisure, pondering of becoming a member of the army or maintaining with army life and advantages, Navy.com has you coated. Subscribe to the Navy.com publication to have army information, updates and sources delivered straight to your inbox.
