NOW AND THEN

My Grand-Father was in the Coast Guard during World War II and stationed on a hospital ship in the European Theater. He has never discussed in depth his experiences during the war but a few times he has let down his guard and talked about the war in general. On one of these occasions, I was enthralled to listen to his descriptions of how they felt and viewed the Germans as America entered the war.

My perceptions of this conflict have always been tainted with the foreknowledge that “we won.” Therefore, it never entered my mind that possibly my Grand-Father and others of his generation had any doubt about the outcome when they entered the conflict. However, it appears that this was not the case in 1941. My Grand-Father spoke with a revered and subdued tone as he described the fear and overwhelming sense of doubt that many faced as news of the Germans advancements occurred in country after country. In his words, “they were un-stoppable and with their Blitzkrieg rolled over anything in their way.” Much of the country was uncertain if American forces could stop them and as preparations for D-Day took place they were truly facing the unknown. However, the one thing that unified the country at that time was the common knowledge that they (the Nazis) would not stop. Listening to his description of this snapshot in time, it was clear that they were unified by the undeniable knowledge that they were in a fight for survival. In their world at that time, there was no other option; they would either defeat the enemy or everything they knew would be swept away as occurred in Austria, Poland, Belgium, and France. Prior to Pearl Harbor, America had clung to the last vestiges of her selfishness and stubbornly sat aside while her allies struggled for their very survival. The attack on America galvanized the country in a way few expected but the overriding view of most Americans was that there was no alternative. It was either fight or die, fear, anger and resolve bonded our people together in a way that no other speech or persuasion could. The fight was no longer over there, it had come here.

In this context, I have heard several commentators discussing at length how they are perplexed and dismayed at the number of Americans who today do not grasp or understand the magnitude of the struggle we find ourselves in this war on terror. In a word, the American people as a whole have not reached the place where they see no alternative, in truth they are not yet afraid of the dire consequences of not acting. Some reasoned we had reached that place when the twin towers fell but in the midst of our twenty-first century entertainments and diversions we have shown as a nation that our memory is short. Like Nazi Germany, I fear that our current enemies possess the same evil intent, goals and persistence. With this perspective, I support the war because I truly believe that were we not bringing the fight to our enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan then we would be fighting the war here in our streets and in our cities. It is sad but true that history often repeats itself. I do not think it is completely due to ignorance but in the pretext of war that it is a deep seated desire on the part of many that we can avoid the cost and sacrifice. Inevitably evil will not subside until it has been defeated, the cost is always dear but always worthwhile.