Title: FW: WWII memorial
Subject: FW: WWII
memorial
Sent
by a friend
Subject: WWII memorial
Today I went to visit the new World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
I got an unexpected history lesson. Since I'm a baby boomer, I was one of the
youngest in the crowd. Most were the age of my parents, veterans of "the
greatest war" with their families. It was a beautiful day, and people were
smiling and happy to be there. Hundreds of us milled around the memorial,
reading the inspiring words of Ike and Truman that are engraved there.
On the Pacific side of the memorial, a group of us gathered to read the words
President Roosevelt used to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor:
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941-- a date which will live in infamy-- the United States of America
was suddenly and deliberately attacked." One woman read the words
aloud: " With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding
determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph." But as
she read, she was suddenly angry. "Wait a minute," she said.
"They left out the end of the quote. They left out the most important
part. Roosevelt said 'so help us God."
"You're probably right," her husband said. "We're not supposed
to say things like that now."
"I know I'm right," she insisted. "I remember the speech."
The two shook their heads sadly and walked away.
Listening to their conversation, I thought to myself, "Well, it has been
50 years. She's probably forgotten."
But she was right.
I went home and pulled out the book my book club is reading. It's "Flags
of Our Fathers" by James Bradley. It's all about Iwo
Jima. I haven't gotten too far in the book. It's tough to
read because it's a graphic description of the battles in the Pacific.
But right there it was on page 58. Roosevelt's
speech to the nation. It ends "so help us God."
The people who edited out that part of the speech when they engraved it on the
memorial could have fooled me. I was born after the war. But they couldn't fool
the people who were there. Roosevelt's words
are engraved on their hearts.
Send this around to your friends. People need to know before everyone forgets
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