We received the following... Dear Honored Veteran: A singular moment in American history, December 7, 1941, remains forever a "date which shall live in infamy." In response to the challenge of that day, you and millions of your fellow countrymen and women marshaled a force for justice unprecedented in the annals of human endeavor. You left your homes, your farms, your factories, and your schools to take up arms in the face of tyrannical winds of war blowing across the Earth's continents, oceans, and islands. From Tunisia to the Coral Sea, from Monte Casino to the North Atlantic, from the jungles of Burma to the air over Berlin, from Iwo Jima to Normandy, and all along the home front, American men and women in uniform-whether green fatigues or hospital whites-pressed on selflessly to bring an end to globe-gripping terror. You met the enemy on battlefields where your boots froze to the winter ground or melted away in the jungle heat; you confronted Democracy's adversaries beneath the waves and above the clouds; you took on the opponents of liberty at the very cost of your own freedom -- you experienced the brutality of the stalags and the cruelty of Bataan...and worse. Yet, through it all, you emerged victorious against the evil doers who would never know that taste of victory because Americans stood ready to take up freedom's banner. Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 of your countrymen made the ultimate sacrifice upon the altar of freedom, and nearly 700,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines returned home wounded or disabled. In the intervening years, ten million World War II veterans departed this life and now rest in eternal honor. By your courage and your fortitude, through your love of peace and your faith in freedom, the enemies of liberty learned on the swift blade of justice that America's citizen-soldiers-men and women-give no quarter to tyrants and bullies. The same selfless determination and purpose of mission that inspired American GIs to surmount the obstacles of war and build a new peace, inspired you and your comrades to then rebuild America. Your commitment to our country lit an honorable flame that still burns. Today, the torch of liberty, fueled by your selfless sacrifices so many decades ago, shines like a beacon of hope throughout the world. Now, though you never asked for the words to be spoken, it is time for you to hear America say "Thank you." Thank you for all we enjoy today as citizens of a great and prosperous Nation; thank you for a country blessed with a bounty of rights and freedoms that make us unique-and envied-the world over; and thank you for putting your lives on the line for Democracy's steadfast principles that are as immutable today as they were at our Nation's founding 227 years ago, and as they were 60 years ago when you stood foursquare in their defense. On behalf of a grateful nation, I salute you. Back to 2nd Quarter 2004 List of News Items Back to Master List of News Items Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com