Dec. 7, 1941
It is worth remembering.
Somewhere in your family history I am sure is someone who was impacted by this date.
Perhaps, like my great-uncle, they were already enlisted and ended up some place they never heard of. Maybe they enlisted short afterwards. Maybe they tried but were declared in-eligible.
Maybe one of the women in your family was a WAC or WAVE or helped with the USO. Maybe they went to work in a factory so the lines could stay running.
Or maybe they were kids who saw their family members go away, some to never return.
Perhaps "all they did" was cut back on meat, gas, or other consumables. Maybe they saved scrap aluminum or helped with a Victory garden. Little things, but little things that made them feel like they were contributing.
Just about everyone in that generation served in one way or another.
I don't know first hand what they lived through. All I have is the history books and tales from my parents. I am sure there was a lot of fear and worry, perhaps not unlike those first few hours and days after 9-11.
So few of the survivors of the actual attack are still alive today. The worst thing we can do to them is forget. Forget what happened. Forget the price. Forget the years to follow and the lives forever changed.
I hope you remembered, if only for a minute.
Somewhere in your family history I am sure is someone who was impacted by this date.
Perhaps, like my great-uncle, they were already enlisted and ended up some place they never heard of. Maybe they enlisted short afterwards. Maybe they tried but were declared in-eligible.
Maybe one of the women in your family was a WAC or WAVE or helped with the USO. Maybe they went to work in a factory so the lines could stay running.
Or maybe they were kids who saw their family members go away, some to never return.
Perhaps "all they did" was cut back on meat, gas, or other consumables. Maybe they saved scrap aluminum or helped with a Victory garden. Little things, but little things that made them feel like they were contributing.
Just about everyone in that generation served in one way or another.
I don't know first hand what they lived through. All I have is the history books and tales from my parents. I am sure there was a lot of fear and worry, perhaps not unlike those first few hours and days after 9-11.
So few of the survivors of the actual attack are still alive today. The worst thing we can do to them is forget. Forget what happened. Forget the price. Forget the years to follow and the lives forever changed.
I hope you remembered, if only for a minute.