A Useful Purpose of Memorial Day

I'm writing this on Memorial Day, formerly, Decoration Day. Ever since Hans, our oldest, played trumpet and was recruited to play taps with the Legion guys, my wife has been singing the National Anthem at four cemeteries and a bridge on that last Monday of May.

Although Memorial Day has been hijacked to some extent to glorify war, each of us knows in our heart that the casualties are wishing for peace from Heaven. As a general rule those guys who drank beer in Germany have a different perspective than those who managed to survive actual combat.

My dad was well into his eighties when he told me about his “tour” in the Pacific during World War II. After the divorce I saw a model of a B-29 on his desk and he would only say it was from an old friend.

As it turned out he was a “radar interpreter” on a B-29 based on the island of Tinian. The tail gunner and radar interpreter were connected to the rest of the ship with a pressurized tube. I got to tour one that landed in Mason City a few years ago and was surprised that it was so small. The tube was only big enough for a person to crawl through on their hands and knees.

As Dad was nearing the end of his life he finally opened up about his time in the Army Air Corps (later called the Air Force). As his plane returned from a mission it crash landed. It broke in half and he and the tail-gunner survived but all the rest of his buddies were incinerated.

He also participated in the fire-bombing of Tokyo. Nearly 300 planes dropped 1,665 tons of napalm, turning Japan's capital into a firestorm, killing 100,000 people. It is regarded as the most destructive bombing raid in human history. The survivors suffered the most.

As we approach Father's Day, I still miss my dad. We were at odds through the Vietnam War years. I was always anti-war and he was part of civilized society. I see the irony. Life went on here in the states as my classmates were shipped off to kill or be killed. Civilized society? Dad and I questioned that together as we became close as adults.

I was visiting with a nephew the other day who believed that the North Vietnamese were the aggressors in the Tonkin Gulf incident. The Tonkin Gulf incident was a lie that led to the escalation in Vietnam killing 58,000 young Americans.

With Barack Obama ensuring that drones will do the fighting, Americans have broadly accepted perpetual war. The natural progression from that situation has become not drones, but other people being slaughtered in the politicians' sick games. Joe Biden never made an attempt to talk to Vladimir Putin. Diplomacy was seen as weakness.

I heard an ad for Newsmax on local radio that was promoting war with Iran as if there was some evidence proving their pursuit of nuclear weapons.

In the news recently (well maybe constantly) is this idea of trade talks and agreements. Why does the government have to be involved? What about Sukup selling bins to people in a foreign land just like this? The bin goes there, the cash goes to Sukup. If the foreign company can't keep their government out of the deal, that's their problem to solve and they will if they want the bin.

Isolationist has become a dirty word. If we are to redeem our moral standing with God, it is time that we recognize that an isolationist government policy would really be an engaged private citizen policy and that would necessitate peace.

Let's have these people lost to lack of diplomacy fueled by psychopathic war profiteers be essential to a disengagement of government from our relationships with others. Memorial Day can serve a useful purpose.

Please make my day with a comment on my column through a letter to the editor or directly to me at 4selfgovernment@gmail.com