I was in Washington DC again recently. This time, took the family down to the Capitol Mall to see the comparatively new World War II memorial. For a modern memorial, it is extraordinarily well done. The FDR Memorial which is a few years older, is downright garish by comparison.
One half of the memorial is dedicated to the events in the Atlantic theater, the other half to the Pacific. It has a beautiful water feature in the center and is symbolically positioned between the Washington Monument (think Revolutionary War) and the Lincoln Memorial (The "Waahr" as folks down here used to refer to the Civil War). This was a cataclysmic affair in which millions died but out of which the modern world as we know it was born. This is actually the second time I have been to this memorial and I once again noticed small groups of elderly men carefully reading the inscriptions and talking among themselves...quiet veterans whose numbers are dwindling. Thank goodness we got this thing built before all of the survivors and veterans of WW II are gone! It says a lot about the solipsism of the generation that waged the Vietnam War that they got a memorial before the men and women of the '30's and '40's. Not that I begrudge the Vietnam Memorial - it is a serious, stark affair that tugs at the heartstrings; especially for those of us that had friends and relatives that fought and died there.
Two inscriptions from the WWII Memorial deserve special attention:
Note the last line: "the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory." Hmm...no mention of a planned withdrawal, no plan to just sit down and talk to them so we can better understand why they wanted to hurt us...how primitive!
There are two areas I have faulted the Bush administration for. One is the stance on immigration which is totally illogical and I have written about several times before. The other is the fact that while they have been doggedly committed to winning this "war on terrorism," they have done a lousy job of telling the American people WHY we need to win. They have not spelled out for us the FACT that we are at war and that during wartime, sacrifices must be made...casualties occur...there are setbacks and events that are not planned, but as the Marines like to say you "adjust, adapt and overcome."
Folks, get in close so I can learn you on this one:
1. We are at war.
2. War means there are victories and their are losses.
3. We can choose to win this war OR we can choose to lose it.
Now, as for me, I like the former option..."failure is not an option," as they said in Apollo 13.
OK, back to the Memorial...here's the second inscription:
You may have to click the picture on to blow it up, but it's about the Battle of Midway. Being a Navy man myself, we tend to puff up our chests a little when Midway gets discussed. But the line to focus on is this: "Even against the greatest of odds, there is something in the human spirit- a magic blend of skill, faith and valor- that can lift men from certain defeat to incredible victory."
I am waiting for our Midway moment in this conflict and have a sense that the current "surge," might just bring it. But can you imagine a Congress interfering in the day to day operations of World War II the way this bunch has tried on the camo for our dust up in Iraq?
"Admiral Spruance, Congressman Dinglehoffer here, I think you should position the Yorktown to windward of Midway...but more importantly, have you tried talking to Admiral Yamamoto? Perhaps we have somehow been culturally insensitive and hurt his self esteem. Why else would he have such anger towards us?"
For the love of all that is holy, can we let the military fight this thing? And if we truly "support our troops," lets get behind the time and support they say they need to win. Definition of victory? How about no more bad guys that want to kill us? How about a free and stable Iraq - we can quibble over whether democracy can succeed in an Islamic state (watch out Turkey!) and maybe it can't, but at a minimum we can have a thug that doesn't abuse his own people or his neighbors.
This war is every bit as crucial to our survival as a people as World War II was, perhaps more so, because we cannot hide behind our two oceans...we learned that on 9/11...have we forgotten?
Two inscriptions from the WWII Memorial deserve special attention:
Note the last line: "the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory." Hmm...no mention of a planned withdrawal, no plan to just sit down and talk to them so we can better understand why they wanted to hurt us...how primitive!There are two areas I have faulted the Bush administration for. One is the stance on immigration which is totally illogical and I have written about several times before. The other is the fact that while they have been doggedly committed to winning this "war on terrorism," they have done a lousy job of telling the American people WHY we need to win. They have not spelled out for us the FACT that we are at war and that during wartime, sacrifices must be made...casualties occur...there are setbacks and events that are not planned, but as the Marines like to say you "adjust, adapt and overcome."
Folks, get in close so I can learn you on this one:
1. We are at war.
2. War means there are victories and their are losses.
3. We can choose to win this war OR we can choose to lose it.
Now, as for me, I like the former option..."failure is not an option," as they said in Apollo 13.
OK, back to the Memorial...here's the second inscription:
You may have to click the picture on to blow it up, but it's about the Battle of Midway. Being a Navy man myself, we tend to puff up our chests a little when Midway gets discussed. But the line to focus on is this: "Even against the greatest of odds, there is something in the human spirit- a magic blend of skill, faith and valor- that can lift men from certain defeat to incredible victory."I am waiting for our Midway moment in this conflict and have a sense that the current "surge," might just bring it. But can you imagine a Congress interfering in the day to day operations of World War II the way this bunch has tried on the camo for our dust up in Iraq?
"Admiral Spruance, Congressman Dinglehoffer here, I think you should position the Yorktown to windward of Midway...but more importantly, have you tried talking to Admiral Yamamoto? Perhaps we have somehow been culturally insensitive and hurt his self esteem. Why else would he have such anger towards us?"
For the love of all that is holy, can we let the military fight this thing? And if we truly "support our troops," lets get behind the time and support they say they need to win. Definition of victory? How about no more bad guys that want to kill us? How about a free and stable Iraq - we can quibble over whether democracy can succeed in an Islamic state (watch out Turkey!) and maybe it can't, but at a minimum we can have a thug that doesn't abuse his own people or his neighbors.
This war is every bit as crucial to our survival as a people as World War II was, perhaps more so, because we cannot hide behind our two oceans...we learned that on 9/11...have we forgotten?