Musings
I just finished watching the movie Saving Private Ryan. I had watched it a number of years ago when it was new, but I watched it again today. It struck me that within a few years, World War II will have passed into the realm of WWI or the Spanish-American War - something from the past to which no one is directly connected. Both of my grandfathers fought in the war - one as a Navy gunner in the Pacific, one as Army infantry/sniper in Germany and France. Before long, no one who fought in that war will still be alive.
I remember my grandfather telling me that when he first watched the movie, that he and a number of the other veterans in the theaters were shocked, brought to tears and terror even, by the realness of the film. Having been brought up hearing stories of the war and feeling an albeit small other personal connection (my birthday is Pearl Harbor day), I have always thought a lot about that time, read about it, and felt grateful for the soldiers sacrifices. It is hard to think that within 20 years this moment that I consider to be one of the defining moments for the United States and even the modern world will pass into "The Past." Kids already don't know anything about it; WWII is rarely taught in school.
I guess that many have felt this way before; those who fought or lost family in the Civil War probably felt that it would never dull in the minds of Americans, and to an extent that is correct. The Civil War is much more remembered and hallowed for Americans, right up there with the Revolutionary War. Rightly so, I don't dispute this. But I just feel like our generation and those of our children will be doing themselves a disservice and greatly dishonoring the men and women of my grandfather's generation by letting the Second World War slip into antiquity.
I remember my grandfather telling me that when he first watched the movie, that he and a number of the other veterans in the theaters were shocked, brought to tears and terror even, by the realness of the film. Having been brought up hearing stories of the war and feeling an albeit small other personal connection (my birthday is Pearl Harbor day), I have always thought a lot about that time, read about it, and felt grateful for the soldiers sacrifices. It is hard to think that within 20 years this moment that I consider to be one of the defining moments for the United States and even the modern world will pass into "The Past." Kids already don't know anything about it; WWII is rarely taught in school.
I guess that many have felt this way before; those who fought or lost family in the Civil War probably felt that it would never dull in the minds of Americans, and to an extent that is correct. The Civil War is much more remembered and hallowed for Americans, right up there with the Revolutionary War. Rightly so, I don't dispute this. But I just feel like our generation and those of our children will be doing themselves a disservice and greatly dishonoring the men and women of my grandfather's generation by letting the Second World War slip into antiquity.