71 years today...Veteran's remember

We are a relatively young country, comparatively speaking. In some European countries you can find houses that are older than what our country is. Naturally as a 'teenage' country our attention span and our memories are short in duration. One could even say that as a nation we have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Unfortunately this type of mentality is fed by individuals and politicians who only have vision through the next election cycle and are not willing to look beyond the next election date. It is sad to say then that decisions are then made based on what will help them in the polls, on sound bites that may glamorize them in front of the evening news, or on decisions that will help them best get reelected and not for the betterment of the country as a whole.

USS Arizona

With that off my chest I have come to realize that the conscience of a nation isn't necessarily the historians who spend hours, days, and years studying the past. They are the chroniclers of time and past. No- the conscience of a nation is its veterans. Those who have made some of the history of a country while defending its principles and freedoms over the years. They watch as those freedoms and principles they have fought for so bravely are eroded away by time and politicians.

71 years today is the anniversary of the entry of the United States into the second world war. It was marked by the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. I state the entry of the United States into the war because on December 7th, 1941 war already had been raging in Asia as well as in Europe. Ask someone from Poland, England, France, or China when WWII started and you will get answers that are much earlier than December 7th, 1941.

Cross memorial on top of Mt. Samat

Yesterday Marcia and I went with a number of other people from our work area and visited a memorial to those who fought on the peninsula of Bataan in the Philippines. We drove to the top of a mountain-17,000 feet. On the top was a cross over forty stories tall erected for those who fought at the onset of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. Inside the cross was an elevator that took us to the 'cross' portion of the monument to an observation deck. The observation deck was 36 stories; another 360 feet in the air.

Closer look at base of cross

You can imagine, because of its height overlooking miles and miles of land, why this mountain was fought over during the Japanese invasion. I was amazed of the view that we had from the observation deck.

I am proud to be a veteran of the United States Navy. I have been blessed to have been born in a country that has more freedoms than most other countries around the world. I feel it an obligation to remember and remind others of the price of blood that was paid for our freedoms- from Bunker Hill to Afghanistan. Today we remember what started WWII 71 years ago today.

Our WWII veterans are quickly answering their final muster call. If you know of one, related to one- tell him or her thank-you. It is long overdue...


jsf