I caught a few hours of Ken Burns' "The War" on PBS yesterday which is an amazing series. The footage of frozen lifeless soldiers being hauled away during the Battle of the Bulge and the personal stories of people who fought and people who were interred in prison camps made me realize how lucky and truly blessed I am to live in the USA in 2012. Even after Normandy, the defeat of Germany was still not a sure thing. Due to Europe and Asia destroying themselves and the American economic engine, the people of this country have lived in peace through strength since 1945.
We live in a culture now that whines about a lot of small minor things that 70 years ago would not even concern us. It is amazing how just 70 years ago, Europe was still fighting and people thought nothing of sending other human beings to death factories. I am amazed at the story of Jan Karski of Poland who went through self-mutilation and elaborate plans and yet eluded death to tell the world of the genocidal goals of the German fascists. There is evil in this world as evidenced by the murderous regimes that have existed over the past century.
Without American men and women fighting to protect the USA, who knows what type of world we would live in.
That being said, even today our neighbors are still giving their lives to serve this great country. People like Jeremy Katzenberger. The only way I know about his story is, like us, Jeremy's family is one of the many that attend Antioch Bible Baptist Church and out of the blue one morning Pastor Bob announced that he lost his life serving the county.
I happened to see his name on the Park Hill Hall of Fame one night while attending a board meeting. He was inducted into the Hall earlier this year and the school produced a video in remembrance of him.
There are millions of people and families that have had to deal with the heartbreak and loss of losing a loved one after leaving for war. I cannot comprehend and hopefully never have to experience that loss. The only thing I can say to those that made the ultimate sacrifice and their families is thank you.
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