Johnny Cash wrote/sang this simple story repeated thousands of times down through history.

ROUTE #1, BOX 144
Words and music by Johnny Cash
As recorded by Johnny Cash on "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" (1970) © '69 Slapich Music, BMI

(SUNG)
His dying barely made the morning paper
And they summed it up in twenty words or more:
"Killed in action - leaves wife and baby
At Route 1 Box 144."

(SPOKEN)
He grew up on a little farm
Just a couple of miles out of town.
As a boy, he worked in his daddy's field,
And when his daddy could spare him,
He hired out to the neighbors,
For whatever they could pay him.

He was thought of as just average,
A good boy, nothin' more,
The average amount of friends.
He married his high-school sweetheart.
They bought a little plot of ground,
An' a couple of miles out of town,
On a mailbox, it said "Route 1 Box 144."

Well, back in town, there were very few people
That really knew him,
Because he hardly ever came to town
Except for maybe on Saturdays.
Of course, the usual crew was always there,
But he didn't spend a lot of time with the usual crew.
He took care of his business,
Bought what he had to have
Or could afford for his family,
And went back to his little farm.

With a baby on the way, he went to the army
And it was just a short while
That the news came that he was killed in action.
His body was sent back on a plane and then by train
And then they brought the body
From the train station
To Route 1 Box 144.

(SUNG)
He never did great things to be remembered.
He'd never been away from home before.
But you'd've thought that he was President or somethin',
At Route 1 Box 144.