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Nov. 12, 2004 Why in the hell do we celebrate Veteran’s Day? Why do we honor and commemorate men and women who go off with guns and kill our fellow human beings? The reason is simple and can be summed up in four words, FREEDOM, LIBERTY, JUSTICE, COMPASSION. There are some on the island of Hawaii who remember December 7, 1941. That quiet Sunday morning 183 Japanese planes flew low over the mountain tops of Oahu and the carnage began. When it was over 2300 American civilian and military personnel lay dead, hundreds more were wounded. America sent its finest young men and women to fight the Nazi’s, the Italian Fascist and the Japanese. Those selfless individuals bled and died to save our Liberty and Freedom here at home. They bled and died to exact Justice and deliver Compassion on the sands of the Pacific Islands and the mud and deserts of Europe and Africa. June 6, 1944 was designated “D-Day.” 150,000 combined Allied Forces clamored aboard ship under a threatening, leaden sky. A brief window of calm weather would allow the invasion of France to take place. By nightfall of that same day 9000 men of the Allied force were dead or wounded. The great majority of those casualties were American. Until September 11, 2001 the people of mainland United States had no idea what it meant to be at war. War has been seen in newsreels, in movies and on television. On September 11, 2001 we learned, first hand, about the horror of war. We lost 3000 of our fellow Americans on that day, more than we lost on December 7, 1941. To date, 2,758,396 of our finest young men and women have given their lives that we may enjoy FREEDOM, LIBERTY, JUSTICE and practice COMPASSION in dealing with our fellow man. There are some in our society who claim we are an imperialistic nation. Some rail at the so-called injustice this society propagates, citizen idiots call our leaders murderers and our population stupid sheep. I submit none of the above is true. Look around you. Truly understand how you are blessed to live in this free society. We have many faults, but one of them is not lack of Compassion. This then, my friends, is why we celebrate and commemorate our Veterans with their very special day. 2,758,396 men and women have given us their blood and the gift of their lives so everyone, including incredibly fat film producers, can say what they want and embrace their belief. That’s my opinion and it’s the only one I’m qualified to give. ------------ About the author James B. Bergstad: I've explored this planet for sixty-six years. For the most part it's been a blast. I now indulge my passions of reading, writing and painting. My novel "Hyde's Corner" is awaiting publication. It is a taut period/drama set in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Sheriff Selmer Burks presides over the destruction of three families and the corruption of Hyde's Corner. Email: captflash@astound.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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