Ever heard of Peleliu? Here's why it should mean something to you

Of late I've been reading, re-reading and listening to books about World War II, specifically the war in the Pacific, where, unlike the European theatre, the rules of the Geneva Convention were ignored. War itself is awful, brutal and a hellish thing, but even a cursory study of the war in the Pacific — waged in a series of attritional battles on tiny islands made of untenable topography — reveals unthinkable horrors. It left its brave survivors with a lifetime of nightmares.


I have been moved by two passages from Eugene B. Sledge's book, "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa."


“I am the harvest of man's stupidity. I am the fruit of the holocaust. I prayed like you to survive, but look at me now. It is over for us who are dead, but you must struggle, and will carry the memories all your life. People back home will wonder why you can't forget.”


“As the sun disappeared below the horizon and its glare no longer reflected off a glassy sea, I thought of how beautiful the sunsets always were in the Pacific. They were even more beautiful than over Mobile Bay. Suddenly a thought hit me like a thunderbolt. Would I live to see the sunset tomorrow?”


And now, please, if you're willing, permit me to share a few thoughts today, July 4, 2021 ...

We live our relatively comfortable lives quite naturally taking for granted the freedoms we enjoy; freedoms that include the right to dissent in confrontational and purposely offensive ways. It is human nature to forget and become complacent over time. However, it is an irrefutable fact that when we fail to regard the sacrifices of those who went before us, we do much more than pay a disservice to them. Ultimately, we weaken ourselves as human beings and damage our potential as a society. In addition, we help to seal a fraudulent fate on future generations.

My fear is that not enough of us understand or have even the slightest appreciation for this country's history, taken as a whole. Imperfect thought it is, American history is replete with tales of bravery, selflessness, redemption and the acknowledgement of a higher purpose, even in the face of its failures. Too often these days our history is viewed in blurry snapshots, lacking context as it is projected against the backdrop of modern, progressive understanding. The assumption, of course, is that "modern" and "progressive" mean "enlightened." But that has never been the case; not now, nor ever.


Happy 4th of July. Savor your independence.