Gold Star mothers are those who have lost sons to war. During World War II there were many such mothers in every state, city and town in the United States. The legacy of war is always carnage, pain, misery, loss of property and loss of limbs! War is not a tidy business. There are many that suppose that there are varying degrees of war. Some Good, some Bad, some that were needed or others that were not. One thing never argued: War is Hell!
The extremes of War also vary. In World War I, millions of Germans and their Allies died as well as millions of French, English and Americans. World War II was even worse. This was the so-called “War to save Democracy”! Then came the Korean Conflict. A cold war game play that turned hot and killed millions of Koreans, Chinese and thousands of Americans and their Allies.
The many Wars that involved the countries of the world…kill, maimed and diaspora millions. If we even talk about the Yugoslavia….and try to convince ourselves that that was a War to stop ethnic cleansing…we find the complexities and wisdom of that conflict was a lot more complicated than a simple slogan. Unemployed Albanians crossed the Yugoslavian border in masse…looking for not only jobs….but a method to take over land by simply squatting on land that did not belong to them and in many cases using the German/Poland methods of the Warsaw Ghetto in World War II…..and kicking people off their homes that their families had occupied for hundreds of years.
Easy solutions to war are seldom satisfactory. Israel has won every war it has ever fought in its short history of existence. Yet, Peace has yet to be achieved either by Israel or by its enemies! Lebanon and the Middle East, anywhere in Africa, The Russian Republic, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Columbia and a hundred other hot spots in the world….all cannot seem to find peace. In each case, the Global powers, the Big 8, the Big 12, the Eastern Block, the Western Powers or other such name groups cannot seem to find a way to move capital around the globe without killing people. Each time this happens…..the United States of America becomes a player.
The rhetorical reasons for war include the following: “War to Stop all Wars!”, “The War to End the Fascist Threat!”, “The Great War to Save the World for Democracy”, “The War to Save Capitalism!”, “The Proletariat War to Preserve Communism!”, “The War on Drugs!” and now the “War on Terror!” In each case our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters are sacrificed in the name of the almighty buck, yen, pound or ruble! War is big business and Bob Dylan was not the first to point that out. Bob and those that came before were just as correct however. Yet, without war…..the world finds itself in its current condition – World Depression! The Germans have a wonderful slogan: “The Germans are only happy – at war or rebuilding!” Evidently….we have been following this paradigm for some time!
November 11th, is Veterans Day. For those of us that did serve our country during war time and did receive an Honorable Discharge and did come back luckily with all our arms and legs……let us rejoice! God has blessed our endeavors…God has given us another day to continue the great journey to more knowledge. For those of our brethren that have fallen, been maimed morally, physically or emotionally….God bless you. We not only honor your sacrifice – but your memory! For those that served in the military in Peace time…..we Honor your service – No less! Once you sign your life away to the Military…you don’t get any guarantees. Sorry, Private Benjamin’s out there!
Too many times on Veterans Day…old guys stand up in their uniforms, or with their American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars caps and slap themselves on the back for a job well done – by them! Some do in fact remember the lost comrades, the blood, the sweat and the tears of great loss. Too many however are Granstanding rather than being respectful. When they came back from War….they acted as if no one had ever gone before or had ever sacrificed a big jog on Madison Avenue or Wall Street to go to War. Most never did by the way! When we hear of movie stars or important families children going to the military…it is still amazing. Tyrone Power a Marine Aviator, William Holden, Burt Lancaster…..Ernest Borgnine and others. Especially in this day of “the Great ME generation!” Joe Biden, the new Vice-President elect has just had his son go to Iraq to serve. Sarah Palin’s son, busted for something…got the choice and has gone into the military and deployed to Iraq as well.
Right here in Orange County, California….we have Walt Ehlers who is from Kansas….Walt Ehlers is an American War Hero…that landed on the beaches of Normandy on the 6th of June, 1944. Walt Ehlers is the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor! We know Walt Ehlers, an Army Sergeant that came back without his blood brother….lost at Normandy. To Walt Ehlers we dedicate this 2008 Veterans Day! Walt is living proof that few of us that ever served our country Honorably…..and came home with all our arms and legs…..truly have no need to have our service honored by anyone! For Walt and others – Always!
Happy Veterans Day!
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