(the following is an excerpt from the Eulogy I delivered for my Daddy in 2007 .... I offer it today as also a Memorial to his WWII generation and all American armed services Veterans)
..... These type of teachings about the value of honest, hard work, doing what is
necessary, putting the well-being of family and others before your own desires,
of doing things because they were the right thing to do even if there was no great
personal gain .... all these characteristics I came to appreciate in my Daddy are
also traits of many people of his own age ....... and I would like to read something
that not only applies to my Daddy, but to all his contemporaries ........ what I am
about to read to you is a column I wrote for the Nashville City Paper and was
originally published in the fall of 2000, almost exactly seven years ago.
**************************************
(I recite the text of the published column shown here in Italics)
All too often now, I have conversations with customers who have lost either their
moms or dads or both. These conversations cause sober reflection.
I am fortunate both my parents are still living. Daddy is over 80 years old, and, in
addition to taking care of my disabled mother, he daily works my tail into the
ground. But I don’t think he notices. He has worked hard all his life; he knows
no other way.
I want to make one thing clear right now: I am not the man Daddy is. I never was;
I never will be. But folks my age enjoy a distinction we do not share with anyone
in recorded history . And even though it is an honor we have NOT earned, we do
have every reason to be extremely proud. You see, we are the children of truly
America’s Greatest Generation ..... the generation whose childhood was
beleaguered by the Great Depression before they sacrificed their early adulthood
and blood to the task of literally saving the world in World War II. Daddy did his
part from September 1941 until the end of the war in the Pacific, on Iwo Jima.
We owe this generation absolutely everything.
Until recently, I labored under an embarrassing ignorance. I had thought the
famous statue of the Marines raising the Stars and Stripes on top of the island of
Iwo Jima was an official memorial to all World War II veterans; however, it is a
memorial only to the Marine Corps veterans of that era.
Daddy knows the Marines earned that recognition. He was a sergeant in the U.S.
Army 20th Air Force, a B-29 outfit that followed the Marines onto Iwo Jima. He
saw the hellish aftermath of what they had endured. The dead enemy soldiers
were so numerous many were simply bulldozed under the airstrip, some not
completely covered. One day, Daddy "borrowed" a Jeep and made his way up
Mount Suribachi so that he could stand on the famous summit that overlooked
the eight square miles of black sand and rock where so many lives were lost.
Although the books "The Greatest Generation" and "Flags of Our Fathers" and its
movie, and the film "Saving Private Ryan" helped rekindle public awareness of the
accomplishments of Daddy’s generation, I, like many others, have discovered
there’s no official memorial to honor all of our World War II veterans.
I wondered how this could have happened.
World War II was "the good war," a totally justified mobilization against brutal
military dictatorships in Europe and the Pacific which perpetrated unspeakable
atrocities against civilians. That war effort received nearly universal support;
everyone home and abroad made sacrifices and contributed to the war effort in
many ways. Everyone knew what had been at stake.
And veterans of the Korean War have also long been ignored. In contrast, the
veterans of the horribly divisive Vietnam War now have the most visited
monument in Washington, D.C. And even though that’s all well and good, why
has there been no monument established to honor the generation who won the
"good war?" Who could be more deserving of such an honor?
I think I understand part of the reason. For many decades after World War II,
much of Congress and the Presidency were controlled by members of the
greatest generation. It never occurred to them to make an exceptional use of
public funds or use their bully pulpits to raise private monies to erect a
monument to themselves. And most of their fellow veterans in the private sector
never expected them to do so. The GI Bill was enough for them.
This is one of the reasons they are the greatest generation. There was never any
question in their minds; they only did what had to be done. It was their duty and
they fulfilled it without question. They never thought of themselves as
heroes.......... True heroes ... never do.
It is now the responsibility of those of us who have benefitted from the sacrifices
of the greatest generation to assure recognition for the immensity of what this
group achieved overseas and at home. It is way past time to honor G.I. Joe and
Rosie the Riveter. Sadly, it is too late for many of them, as it is too late to pay
our symbolic respect to the parents whose sons and daughters never came home
and now lie buried in foreign soil.
But a physical monument that most of the greatest generation will never be able
to visit is not enough. Nothing could be enough. But if the richest country in
the history of the world cannot afford a complete health care and drug benefit for
its greatest generation, it ought to just shut down, close up the shop and choke
on its shame. Shame on whomever the President may be, shame on whomever
controls the Congress, shame on ALL of us, shame on America if we do not
immediately and with great pride grant our Greatest Generation full and complete
health care. What possible better use can there be for the federal surplus
instead of giving tax cuts which are biased toward those who need it least while
the big drug companies and HMOs squeeze profits from our heroes of the
Greatest Generation in the last years of their lives. They literally saved our
country, then came home and built this nation into the richest country the world
has ever known. We owe them this benefit .............. we owe them ...
EVERYTHING.
*******************************************
That was published in 2000.... and today there is a memorial in Washington
honoring the veterans of WWII. But health care is still far too great a burden on
the families of the Greatest Generation and that is simply a DISGRACE.
I then went off script for a moment ......
I am going to depart my prepared text for a moment and ask you to do
something......... I see Mr Nash (you were on the battleship Missouri when the
Japanese surrendered ending the war in the Pacific, Mr Jarrett (you were on that
hell hole Iwo Jima, were you not?), and I see Mr Cooper .....there may be other
WWII era veterans or their widows present ......
I am going to ask the rest of you to stand for a moment...... those who have worn
the uniform can give an honorary salute if you wish ....... PLEASE ...... let us
demonstrate our respect, let us honor these members of our Greatest Generation
before it is too late.
(Everyone did stand, and when I started to applaud, they enthusiastically joined for a
long ovation which rose into an ever-increasing crescendo....... tears in many eyes ....
people still mention this moving moment to me years after the event)
Thank you for honoring the members of America’s Greatest Generation who are
present as well as the memories of those who are now gone, and my Father.
You know, my feet are about three sizes larger than my Daddy’s, but there is one
thing I know for sure, and that is I will never be able to fill his shoes.
I have heard it said that a son never truly becomes a man in his own right until
after his father dies. That may be true ...... but right now, at this moment, I would
still rather be my Daddy’s little boy.
Thank you for coming today to honor my Daddy and all those who are members
of America’s Greatest Generation.
