The question used to be, “where were you when Pearl Harbor was attacked?” That was back in 1941.  The world was already at war and the contestants were the democracies on one side and the totalitarian dictatorships on the other side.  At least, to me, chafing to get out of high school and be old enough to be accepted as a member fighting for democracy, it was as simple as that.

Today’s Miami Herald had on an inner page a photo of old men, looking a lot like me, dressed in their military caps showing which veteran’s organization they belonged to.  Where they were when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor is unknown but they all answered the call and fought for their country.  My eyes, however, were directed to the German U-Boats that were sinking our ships just off the Atlantic Coast near where we lived.  I shipped out of Boston and landed in Le Havre on the English Channel far away from U.S. possessions under threat in the Pacific.

World War II is now a relic of old men who are rapidly dying off.  More recent wars and the debacle of our involvement with the Near East, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, enthrall and repel us. On the one hand, we old timers are placed in a special niche that holds the records of a dead world. On the other hand, no one wants to learn about the mistakes and successes of that time.  We are remembering Korea, Viet Nam, the Cold War, Kosovo and the hundreds of spots all over the world where terrorists are exploiting the lack of direction of the most powerful nation in the world ignoring the United Nations. We should be forming with other like countries a common purpose in making the world safe for democracy.

This last was the rallying cry of sixty-four years ago and we still haven’t got it right.

Columns will be written (but not on page one).  Talk show hosts might spend a few minutes mentioning World War II and its anniversary.  But we have a groaning plate full of problems of today that erase the images of what was once called the “Greatest Generation”.  At least, back then, the American people and its representatives appreciated the sacrifice made by those returning and gave those 4 ½ % mortgages and the G.I. Bill of Rights paying for a college education as well as a host of other good things.  Things are not so clear today with anger over Viet Nam still interfering with the unity of this country and the polarization over our war in Iraq. I, at least, having been in that war, will remember Pearl Harbor and I hoped at one time that it would be the last.