Sunday marks the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Don't just let the day pass as any ordinary day. Do something to show your appreciation to the World War II generation, our grandparents' generation, our greatest generation, for all of the personal sacrifice and devotion they gave us and our nation.
Whether you say a prayer, a dozen prayers, or a whole Rosary, place flowers or a wreath on a World War II veteran's grave, send a thank you note to your local VFW or American Legion post or personally thank a World War II veteran, just do something.
Too many times our generation is justifiably criticized for our apathy and ignorance toward the world and pressing issues around us. Our grandparents were never that way. They had no chance to be. They grew up during the Great Depression, when something as common as the choice of what to eat for dinner was noticeably absent from much of society. Those with food were thankful, and those without it simply had to cope.
Millions lived in shacks dubbed Hoovervilles
which were named after the ineffective president under whose watch the depression erupted. At one point, approximately 25 percent of the nation was without a job, according to the federal government. Because official unemployment statistics are always lower than the real numbers, we can only guess how many were actually unemployed.
While we turned to the New Deal and to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to pull us from the depression, Germany and Japan turned to fascist authoritarianism and war to pull them from the depths, only to sink the whole world further into despair and chaos. And so our grandparents pulled together with their peers in Britain, Canada, Russia and other nations to save not only Europe and the Pacific, but quite literally, the entire world. More than 20 million Russians and others in the former Soviet Union died. Of the 16 million American men and women who served in the armed forces during the war, about 300,000 did not come home. And today, just four million of those 16 million remain. World War II veterans are dying at the rate of about 1,100 a day.
One of my grandfathers drove a tank under Gen. Patton. The other served on board the USS Crowley. Both died before I was nine. One of my grandmothers served as an army nurse in Western Europe. She passed away shortly before I got to Ohio University. I am lucky enough to have a few remaining great uncles who served, and every time I see them, I find myself at a loss to comprehend their tremendous sacrifice.
Everyone has family who served in that great undertaking. Most have a family member whom others claim came back a mere image of his former self, as do I. Most of you have family whose war heroism probably trumped that of most of my relatives. But for whatever they did during the war, they did just as much after it.
Our grandparents returned home, married in record numbers, had children (our parents) in record numbers, bought homes, cars, and other products in record numbers, and went to college in record numbers. They built the highways we travel on. They built the homes we live in. They built the suburbs most of us grew up in. In short, they made America what it is today. Not only did they suffer to save the country and the world in its darkest days, but they built the power that is America. We owe everything to this generation; the very least we can do is to observe D-Day with solemnity, thanks and respect.
Don't let Sunday pass as just another day. Use it to show your appreciation for those responsible for everything you have, not to mention your very existence. Say a prayer, visit a cemetery, write a thank you note or personally thank a World War II veteran. Whatever you do, just remember all they did for you, and remember those 12 million whom you can no longer personally thank.
-Kevin Kovach
Athens 17
Archives
Letter to the Editor
