I was struct by a beautiful letter by Gordon Gibson that one of his sons recently found. It was published in the Las Vegas Review Journal- Lt. Gibson had written the letter home and included a detailed and stunningly picturesque account of the invasion of Normandy. The writing conveyed the magnificent awe of this historical event that I felt viscerally. This action, which cost the lives of so many brave young Americans, stopped Hitler in his tracks. My father, Mac, flew B-24s out of Guadalcanal in the Pacific War and B-29s out of Guam. The bombing of Japan stopped the Empire of Japan from future usurpation of territories and finally ended WWII. His biography, Mac-The Wind Beneath My Wings, includes his letters home.
As these members of the greatest generation are dwindling, it is critical to remember what they fought and sacrificed for. When dictators start to usurp land, absorbing former democracies, it is about more than just power and property and ego. It is also about people. These ruthless, power-hungry dictators murder millions of innocent people. The top four are: Mao-65 million, Stalin-40 million, Genghis Khan-40 million, and Hitler 35.2 million. Remember, as the admonition goes, "Those who don't heed history are doomed to repeat it." Democratic countries cannot remain isolationists. Democracy is worth saving.
One other story comes to mind. "When they came for the Polish, I did nothing because I wasn't Polish. When they came for the Jews, I did nothing because I wasn't Jewish. When they came for the Blacks, I did nothing because I wasn't Black. And then they came for me, and no one was left to help."
Some things are worth fighting for.