Eight Two Years Ago Today

Lewkat

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey, USA
I was 8 yrs old and recall this day so vividly, it frightens me that my memory of it is so clear. It was a lovely December afternoon here in NJ. Just finished dinner, and I was out the door to play with my friends.

No sooner had we started a game of stick ball, my Dad came out and told me to come into the house immediately. Well, being the kind of child I was, no way was I going inside without a full explanation for this. After much cajoling and a few threats, he told me we were at war.

War? Where? I looked all around, and it was nice and peaceful, no war in my backyard. Suddenly, other parents were calling their children in as well. I asked Dad where this so-called war was, and he told me Pearl Harbor had just been attacked by the Japanese. Never heard of the place and as far as I was concerned at that tender age Hawaii was another country.

He gave me a lesson in geography, politics, etc. that afternoon that I never forgot. Our Greatest Generation went off to that dreadful war in order to keep us safe and free. This past Veterans Day, I led a program here, honoring the 2 remaining Vets. from that war. A dying breed to say the least, and the bravest of the brave. Many others did likewise last month, for we may not get another opportunity to do so.

Please take a moment of silence today, thanking all who participated. They so richly deserve it.
 
My dad lost a lot of his hearing in France, but never asked the VA for a dime. That doesn’t make him a hero or anything else. He just felt that was the cost of going to war.
 
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