Memorial Day

My father's brother was a casualty of World War II, dying before his 20th birthday from shrapnel wounds that he probably would have survived in our era.  Ironically, VE Day would occur within six months of his injury.  Despite the custom on naming subsequent generations of children after those who had lived a long life, my sister derives her middle name in his memory.  Needless to say, my grandparents were devastated but there were some benefits to no longer having Nazism as a viable entity.   Her other relatives who had stayed behind in Plock were sacrificed in much larger numbers than her son, being deported to concentration camps in 1941.  In 1954, she had the pleasure of visiting a newly established State of Israel, something that may not have happened without the valor of her sons and many other's sons.

From other fallen soldiers we have:

1. America
2. Absence of threatening European invasions
3. The Demise of Slavery
4. A productive American industrial system
5. Prosperity for the people of Germany, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam

There are still threats from aggression around the world that need attention from our soldiers, some of whom unfortunately will become part of future Memorial Day remembrances.