Unity upstages acrimony at WWII event

WASHINGTON -- The country needed this -- a pause in the incivility and acrimony that has become all too pervasive in our political process; a moment to reflect on the values and sacrifices of the past that have allowed Americans to boast with some authority that theirs is the greatest, most diverse society in the history of the world.
That was the purpose of the gathering on the National Mall to dedicate the World War II Memorial, and it was an unrivaled success, bringing together thousands of the dwindling number of men and women who served in what historians love to call the "last good war" nearly six decades after its conclusion.
For one brief moment, Iraq and the constant threat of terrorism, and the negativism of an election campaign already too long did not intrude. Focus was on the debt this nation owes those who proved the accuracy of Japanese admiral Yamamoto's prophetic warning that he feared his bombers had "awakened a sleeping giant" and filled it with a terrible resolve.
Poignant images at dedication
Partisanship and rancor disappeared for a brief moment in this city too often caught up in anger as politicians who have been bitter enemies praised the thousands of aged survivors here to remember and pay final tribute to themselves and their comrades living and dead. Sixteen million of them once had faced seemingly insurmountable odds to save the nation and the world from the forces of evil.
Former Sen. Robert Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential nominee whose arm was left useless by a German machine gun, lauded a Navy hero, the Democrat John F. Kennedy, and President Bush spoke eloquently about the nobility of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the row immediately in front of the speakers' stand old rivals George Bush senior and Bill Clinton sat side by side in cordial attitude. Far back in the crowd, the current Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry, quietly applauded as George W. Bush quoted the poignant prose of the GI's chronicler, Ernie Pyle, and emotionally praised the unparalleled contribution of "the greatest generation."
Millions of Americans watching on television as the moving ceremony unfolded had to have shed tears as I did as these courageous old warriors from every walk of life, some wearing around their necks the blue ribbon and medal of the nation's most honored award, sat often weeping themselves in the center of a monument praised by some and condemned by others but impressive nonetheless. The architectural critiques were of no interest to them anyway, only that the memorial finally exists.
A long journey
It had taken them since 1946 to get there, the last decade of that time to conceive and build this tribute and to pay for it mainly with private contributions. Had the race lasted another 10 years, it would have been too late for almost every one of them. Thousands of the veterans who fought and served and survived in this second great global conflict of the 20th century are dying daily.
Time has a way of obscuring the bad, helping us forget that what took place wasn't always as noble as we would have liked it. The pervasive racism that kept the armed services segregated and brought about the internment of loyal Americans of Japanese extraction was not ignored in the speeches and conversations of the daylong affair. But there was no animosity in the expressions of African American and Japanese American veterans, who sat and stood proudly shoulder-to-shoulder with their white brethren. There were no second-class citizens in the ranks of those who fought so valiantly no matter how hard convention and hateful policies tried to make them so.
A personal contribution
As a boy, I collected scrap and saved tin foil and hoarded dimes to buy war stamps until I had enough for a $25 bond or two. I learned the design and specifications of nearly every allied and enemy airplane and I packed boxes to send overseas. It was in retrospect a small thing, but I was pleased with my own contribution to the war effort, as were millions of other children. I missed "the greatest generation" by only a relatively few years. I am not even sure that it was the greatest, but I know I was in awe of the men who stood between us and those who would do us harm. I still am.
The weekend ceremonies and this lasting monument have made it clear how much we needed even for a brief moment to lay aside our differences and honor these brave Americans for preserving our right to have them.
X Dan K. Thomasson is former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service.