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MN Bob
12-16-2005 13:38:53
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Just recieved this in an email, thought I would share it here. Merry Cristmas to all!!
Changing History after Pearl Harbor
SHALL WE HIRE A MONUMENT ENGRAVER TO GO TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY AND ADD THE MISSING WORDS ?A MESSAGE FROM AN APPALLED OBSERVER:
Today I went to visit the new World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
I got an unexpected history lesson. Because I'm a baby boomer, I was one
of the youngest in the crowd. Most were the age of my parents, veterans of
"the greatest war," with their families. It was a beautiful day, and
people were smiling and happy to be there. Hundreds of us milled around
the memorial, reading the inspiring words of Eisenhower and Truman that are
engraved there.
On the Pacific side of the memorial, a group of us gathered to read the
words President Roosevelt used to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor: Yesterday, December 7, 1941-- a date which will live in infamy--the United
States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.
One elderly woman read the words aloud:
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of
our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph.
But as she read, she was suddenly turned angry. "Wait a minute," she said,
"they left out the end of the quote. They left out the most important
part. Roosevelt ended the message with "so help us God.'" Her husband said, "You are probably right. We're not supposed to say
things like that now."
"I know I'm right," she insisted. "I remember the speech." The two looked
dismayed, shook their heads sadly and walked away. Listening to their conversation, I thought to myself, "Well, it has been
over 50 years. She's probably forgotten."
But she had not forgotten. She was right.
I went home and pulled out the book my book club is reading --- "Flags of
Our Fathers" by James Bradley. It's all about the battle at Iwo Jima.
I haven't gotten too far in the book. It's tough to read because it's a
graphic description of the WWII battles in the Pacific. But right there it was on page 58. Roosevelt'S speech to the nation ends
in "so help us God."
The people who edited out that part of the speech when they engraved it on
the memorial could have fooled me. I was born after the war. But they
couldn't fool the people who were there. Roosevelt'S words are engraved on
their hearts.
Now I ask: "WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORDS OF HISTORY????? ???"
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