I spent the better part of a my late morning and early afternoon taking in the sights and experiences offered just across the border in Washington state. This year marking the sixieth year since the end of World War Two and with August 14th just behind us, that being the day Japan surrendered and the offical end of the war world wide, the good state of Washington put on a great celebration to ring in this historic year. There were fly ins and fly byes of some great military aircraft. Multiple re-enacting groups representing various units from the time period showed up. Great bands and music. Vets from all nations. It was pretty good. Nothing like participating in the 50th back in Hawaii but still good for the Northwest.
So I thought i'd raise my hand in Salute today in honor of all the people who served their countries, on both sides, during those years. I respect you more then any other generation before or after you. Not just because I have a love for your history, but because you are unique. America has never come together like it did for you and probably never will again. You showed what we could do when we were totally dedicated to a cause. People may think we got tough after 9/11 but that was nothing compared to the steel you showed the world after Pearl Harbor. The same goes for our allies.
But my respect also extends to those who fought on the loosing side. Your dedication to your countries was iron clad in ways we can only dream of. I cannot bring myself to mark you all as wrong for simply following orders or protecting your countries. Only a select few earn the bad marks in my book where the axis are concerned.
I wish we had more people like you today. My heart goes out to all of you, living and dead. You truely are the finest generation!
1 comment:
I totally had no idea that there was an anniversary for the war.
I would also completely agree with your sentiments but I haven't studied enough history and so can't tell if there may have been an even better generation.
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