77

December 7, 2018

We sat side by side on the couch in our living room watching an old black and white movie, “The Fighting Sullivans,” a true story of five brothers who perished when their ship the Juneau was sunk during the WWII Battle of Guadalcanal. My father was a young man serving in the Army Air Corps when this actually happened. Now in his seventies, he and I watched in silence. 

Suddenly I heard a snorting beside me and glanced over to see my father vainly trying to stifle the emotions welling up inside him. Tears were streaming down his face as he remembered childhood friends who had enlisted with him but who didn’t survive the war. 

A few years later, I was sitting in the back of an antique fire truck with the owner of our local Agway store. We were in the parade making our way to the cemetery for the annual Veteran’s Day service. He was a bomber squad member who was shot down over Europe and spent time as a POW in Nazi Germany. “Bob,” I said, “Our Vietnam vets talk a lot about PTSD; I’ve never heard much from you WWII guys.”

“It never leaves you,” Bob began. “There are still nights when my wife wakes me up because I’ve been thrashing around in my sleep. I’ll be in a cold sweat.” 

Both these incidents took place more than fifty years after the end of World War II. Those of us who have never been in harm’s way cannot fathom what the utter violence of war does to the human soul. In a conversation with a close friend who is a Vietnam vet, I mentioned having some guilt and regret that I never served in the military. “Don’t ever wish this on yourself,” he advised me. “Be thankful you never had to see what I’ve seen.” I am, and am also thankful for those who have seen, and have served. Many made the ultimate sacrifice, but in some ways I wonder if they were the lucky ones. Those who survived have often borne lifelong scars that they carry to their graves. On this 77th anniversary of the attack upon Pearl Harbor, I am grateful for those who answered their country’s call so the rest of us could enjoy the life we’ve been given at such great cost.