NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A local musician is learning the story of her grandfather in World War II. As a tribute to his life, she's found a way to tell a bit of his story.
"I play at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar, I've played all over Broadway," smiled singer-songwriter Jenny Teator. "I've played just about everywhere in Nashville."
A favorite stage for Jenny has become a space of nighttime modern and mellow.
"I've been playing here at the W the last few years now," she said of the W Nashville hotel in the Gulch.
On Thursday night, Jenny took the stage ready to play the most personal song she's ever written.
"My grandpa was just a hard-working and very wise man up until the day he passed," she said.
"I gotta put the gloves on," Jenny continued, removing a few delicate items from a bag.
After the funeral of her grandfather, Paul Byron Teator, Jenny discovered items offering her a glimpse into a time in her grandfather's life she knew so little about.
"Most people who do go to war don't really talk about it," Jenny said. "My grandpa was part of the 101st Airborne. He was a paratrooper who jumped into Normandy on D-Day."
In those belongings, Jenny found wartime letters, things her grandfather wrote home to his parents and to his wife, Shirley.
"This was his very first letter after joining the Army," Jenny said, holding up an envelope. "He told his dad they're about to go to battle, and honestly, he's feeling very anxious."
The words of those letters make up the verses of Jenny's new song, a track named after the 101st Airborne Division. It's called "Screaming Eagles."
"This goes out to anybody who served in the military," Jenny said to her audience. "It's definitely a tribute to my grandpa as well."
Jenny Teator's song "Screaming Eagles" is out now and can be heard on all the major music platforms.
