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Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of World War II (8/7/05)
Greensboro News & Record
August 7, 2005
Many of us in the baby boomer generation grew up with fathers who fought in World War II. Unfortunately, many of those who fought have already passed away. Many of us remember growing up and hearing stories about World War II, long before Tom Brokaw’s book “The Greatest Generation” was published. We have admired the achievements of the members of that generation for a long time.
As a young child, I remember sitting at our dinner table listening to a musical program called the “Shell Dinner Hour,” a program which played, for the most part, Glenn Miller songs. Those songs seemed to really touch the souls of my parents. They were the songs of war and love, the songs of remembrance and of triumph.
I remember sitting at the dinner table listening to stories of the war, particularly of my Great Aunt Gertrude, who lost two of her sons on the same day, on V-day at two different beaches.
Later on, as I matured, I remember becoming more fully aware of what the Nazi Holocaust had meant to the Jewish people. It dawned on me that without the victory of the Allied Forces, the Jewish people would have been wiped off the face of the earth. Even to this day, the full enormity of the tragedy of six million Jews, among them one and a half million children, who perished at the hands of the Nazi murderers, is difficult to understand.
And so, as we approach the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the war, I feel a great sense of gratitude towards those who fought for freedom. They have bequeathed to my generation and the generation that followed, a world that although not perfect, is a world wherein the forces of Nazism and Fascism were defeated. They have given to us a world wherein human dignity and potential are the core values of this country. Sadly, each day several hundred World War II veterans die and are buried by clergy like me.
However, in addition to this tremendous sense of gratitude, I really wonder how good a job our country is doing in remembering the achievements of those who fought. Do our young people sufficiently understand what occurred?
For the most part, Memorial Day has become a day of play and recreation. It would be wonderful, in my opinion, if instead giving kids a day off from school on Memorial Day, we could make it a day during which the stories of valor were told, particularly within our Middle and High schools. We need to find a better way of communicating to our young people the bravery and commitment of the soldiers who fought. We need to tell the stories of those who fought for freedom. In our religious institutions and in our cemeteries during this time of memorial, we need to honor those still alive who fought and commemorate the memories of those who have passed away.
At Temple Emanuel, we plan to honor our World War II veterans with a special Friday Night Sabbath Service on May 27 at 6:30 p.m. and the public is invited. Our special guest speaker will be the News and Record columnist and historian Ned Harrison. I will offer some reflections of my own after Ned’s speech.
Indeed, we owe those who fought in World War II so much! Hopefully, it will be our task not only to preserve their memories, but to see to it that our country lives up to the core values for which they fought, the values of freedom and human dignity; the values of compassion as well as strength.
Rabbi Fred Guttman is spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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