LETTER: Story on World War II pilot strikes a chord
I was struck by the beautifully written letter by Gordon Gibson, World War II pilot, that one of his sons recently found (“Pilot’s letter describes D-Day landing,” Tuesday Review-Journal). The account of the Normandy invasion from one flying above it was so rich in detail and so stunningly picturesque that I felt the magnificent awe of the historic event viscerally.
As the actual participants in WWII are dwindling, these eyewitness accounts are so critical. History and future generations must remember not only the dedication and heroics that young men of the greatest generation showed, but also the sacrifices they made to end the avaricious march of the dictatorships of Germany and Japan over sovereign democracies.
We need to also remember why. It’s not just about land and acquisition of territory. There were millions of innocent people murdered by these ruthless, power hungry dictators in their quest for power. The top four are Mao (65 million), Stalin (40 million), Genghis Khan (40 million) and Hitler (35.2 million). We all know the admonition that those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. Democracy is worth preserving.