James Pietrek's 9/11 Tribute Song EAGLEYEZ Released 25 Years Later

In the 20 plus years he has worked as a chiropractor, 1998 Blaine High School graduate James Pietrek has seen thousands of patients. He will never forget the first one.

On February 7, 2005, a Marine named Frederick hobbled into his office with acute lower back pain. At the time, Pietrek's office was across the street from the San Diego Marine Corps Air Station in California.

'Frederick told me he didn't want to go the military insurance route - which involved prescription medication, then maybe needle injections, then some diagnostics, and then medical leave or discharge. So, he came to see me,' said Pietrek, who was happy to add that after just a few adjustments Frederick was feeling a lot better.

So much better, in fact, that he called to cancel the rest of his appointments. He had been able to pass a medical exam and deploy with his unit to Iraq.

'A year and a half later, Frederick came back to see me and said, 'If it wasn't for your care, I wouldn't have been able to deploy. Here's a copy of a poem I wrote and the flag I flew for you in Iraq,'' said Pietrek.

The poem is titled, 'WHY WE FIGHT TO DIE'.

Pietrek was so inspired by the experience involving Frederick that he knew one day he would dedicate a song he had written in the aftermath of the September 11 Attacks on America to the K-9 officer.

On this 25th anniversary of the attacks, the opportunity to release 'Eagleyez' has finally happened. Pietrek recently hired someone overseas to remix the song he had recorded in 2001 with his high school buddies—Chais Parkos on guitars and Scott Andrus on drums. 'Eagleyez' is now available at the website 25911250.com

The URL is symbolic. This year marks both the 25th anniversary of 9-11 and America's 250th birthday.

'The song evokes memories of where people were and what they were doing on September 11, 2001, and the feelings of camaraderie we all seemed to have in the days following,' said Pietrek. 'It starts with the biographical aspect of it, a nod is given to the Revolutionary soldiers and then, ironically, references being at war once again in the Middle East.'

Now that the song is out, Pietrek has decided to donate 100 percent of proceeds from performances and online sales to the Veterans Memorial Park in Blaine until the installment of a soon-to-be placed K-9 & Soldier statue. Pietrek views this as a way to thank his first patient, Frederick, and everyone else who has served in the military over the years.

Turns out Pietrek has a strong connection to the park already. The man behind it is Steve Guider, who was one of Pietrek's football coaches when he attended Blaine High School.

'When Coach Guider said they were going to put a K-9 statue there, I thought, 'Okay, now people might want to hear a story about patriotism and resilience,'' said Pietrek, whose song can be described as a personal love letter to America.

In his lyrics, Pietrek uses the bald eagle as a symbol of the nation's freedom, strength, people and collective resolve following national adversity. He also poses the question: Can the ideals America represents survive repeated periods of danger and conflict?

The planned statue will cost around $80,000 to produce. It is one of the handful of monuments left to place at Veterans Memorial Park in Blaine, which first opened in 2019 on the grounds of Tom Ryan Park. The park adjacent to Blaine's City Hall currently features numerous monuments honoring different aspects of military service.

There are monuments to the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Korea and the War on Terror. In addition, there is a POW/MIA monument, a monument honoring women who have served, a Gold Star children's monument, a Freedom Rock, a Purple Heart monument and benches honoring individuals who have served.

Once the remaining $260,000 of the total $900,000 budget has been raised, Guider plans to place the K-9 statue, as well as a combat medic statue and a plaque for Minnesota's Medal of Honor recipients. 'I also want to fix a crack in the park's Purple Heart Memorial, add signage for the park itself and bring in a helicopter to place over the green space,' said Guider. 'I'm thinking a HueyCobra would be a nice addition.'

Guider said his nonprofit has $44,000 in the bank right now, and with the help of the community he hopes to raise the remaining $216,000 needed to complete the project as soon as the end of this year.

'I didn't want it to be a Blaine Veterans Park. That scope is too narrow. We are a Veterans Memorial Park that is in the City of Blaine, but we honor everybody who has ever served this country,' said Guider, who is not a veteran himself, but has a lot of respect for those who have served and sacrificed.

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