Origin of the poem "Forever Young"
from Terry Oden - Long time Japan resident

First off, the correct title is   "To Be Young".  
It was written by Birmingham, Ala native Samuel Ullman in the l920's.  
He was a prominent businessman and philanthropist in the city.  

This poem was a favorite of General Douglas MacArthur, and he always carried a copy with him.

When he was in charge, so to speak, of Japan after the war, he was headquartered at the Dai Ichi Hotel.  He had a copy of this poem framed and hung on the wall in his office.  When the Japanese Prime Minister came on one of his many visits to the great one, he saw the poem and got a copy of it.  

The poem has since become almost the national anthem of Japan.  Every person in Japan has a copy of it.

Need to double check to be sure it copied correctly, some of it didn't sound exactly like I thought it was.  

Terry Oden