My grandpa rarely talked about the war

Grandpa used to say, "You gotta leave room for criticism."
Grandpa used to say that he liked grandma best
Grandpa use to say, "If you eat that tomato it will put hair on your chest."
But my grandpa rarely talked about the war

Grandpa used to make things out of wood
Grandpa used to take his time on a back roads country drive
Grandpa played harmonica with me and my band until he died at age 79
And my grandpa rarely talked about the war

Grandpa fought in World War II - the sequel to the War to End all Wars
I loved him and respected him for sure
So I never pressed him hard to tell me more
And my grandpa rarely talked about the war

I can not imagine what it was like for him to be in the Pacific on that day

My grandpa took a bullet in the leg
Crawled behind a tree until the medics came
And he said to me, "Ya know that tree is why I'm standing here today."
And that anecdote was typically all my grandpa'd have to say

I loved him and respected him for sure
So I never pressed him hard to tell me more
But that bullet wound on his ankle was not the only scar
Grandpa rarely talked about the war

But grandpa used to say, "You gotta leave room for criticism."
Grandpa was a jack of all trades
And he told a silly joke about Mister Bates and his son, Master Bates
But the memory I have of him that speaks volumes to me now
ya know my grandpa, he rarely talked about the war