This year they honored those that fought and those that died at the Battle Of Iwo Jima in the Pacific. They had Charles Durnham read a letter written by a Navy Corpsman that was there, and how he remembered the battle, And let me tell you folks, it was so stirring. Charles Durnham read it and while he did they showed the actual battle wounded from that war, and then at the end they switched to the Veteran that wrote it, and the tears in his eyes from the grief he still feels, was very evident. Tom Brokaw said it correctly, they were the GREATEST GENERATION. They were innocent, and lived lives that were happy and fulfilling, and then they went to War and fought and died, and those that did survive, came home and Created one of the greatest economies ever. The Fears they had they put behind them, and went on living and raising families.
Wilton W. Brett 1919-1996
When I was young, I lived in Hawaii, on Ford Island in 1954, and my House looked out over the harbor, where the Battleships that were sunk were still laying on their sides rusting away, and leaking oil and fuel. I was in the 4th grade, and was old enough to know what had happened and that there were still bodies in those ships, and I was scared to go near the water. I took a Launch to and from the main land where I went to school and every day we floated right over the top of the USS Arizona. Bubbles still rose from the depths of the ship. It was only 13 years since that fateful Day had sunk it and her sister Battleships. I lived in a house that still had bullet holes in the outside plaster. I went to the Dr in Bldgs that were pock marked with aircraft firing into them. I remember that very well.
In 1956 we went back to Hawaii and we were living on the economy, waiting for Base Housing to come available. We lived on the side of Punchbowl, which is an extinct volcano. It is also the site of the National Cemetery Of the Pacific. In the crater of the mountain is a vast green cemetery filled with graves from the War in the Pacific. Row upon row of white crosses, and Stars of David fill the crater from Rim to rim. It is an awesome sight to see. And also one that gives you chills and a pause to think.
My father was a member of that Generation, He was in the Navy 6 months before the war started, and he stayed in for over 23 years. My Husband was a veteran of the Viet Nam war, he joined the Navy 1n 1960 before the Vietnam War started. He stayed in for 20 years. Both are gone now, but still remembered on this day. Jim is buried on top of his Parents in Charlotte, Michigan, and my Dad is scattered on the Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park. Neither one are where I can go place a flower or a flag, but both are remembered on this day.
James E. Chandler 1940-1995
I would hope that this “war” that we are fighting now will soon end, and once again we can get on with peace time living. And another Generation of Veterans can grow old and sit on the lawn of the US Capitol and Cry at the concert that is given every year on this day. I know I will.
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