Victory Day

Friday, 7 May 2010 by Marcus Aquinas.

Lost in the shuffle of Parliamentary elections, economic problems, political crises and the usual detritus shoveled up by our assorted “news” services is the remembrance that today (May 8) is the 65th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe during World War II.

It is appropriate that we take a moment to remember that we Americans did not win that war by ourselves. Fighting alongside us were the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, China (mainland and Taiwan; it is a distinction without a difference in this context), Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, every country invaded/annexed during the war and countries that I, with a degree in History, cannot remember ever being mentioned in any of my coursework or readings on the period.

We Americans smugly pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, but seldom stop to consider the cost of that war to others. Here is a nice chart detailing civilian and military casualties of the war (post-war casualties are a different problem). I would urge everyone to consider whether they would have what they have today had the “Greatest Generation” not handed it to them through sacrifice and sheer determination. My uncle served in three theaters of the war (Africa, Europe and the Pacific) and it is to him and his comrades-in-arms that I extend my sincere gratitude. 90% of them are no longer with us, but it is because of them that we are what we are (for good or ill).

I urge everyone to contact Mr. Obama (http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact), Mr. Brown (he still holds the office - https://email.number10.gov.uk/Contact.aspx), Mr. Sarkozy (http://www.elysee.fr/ecrire/), and Mr. Medvedev (http://eng.kremlin.ru/articles/send_letter_Eng1a.shtml) to express their gratitude. While I do not wish to exclude our Chinese allies (Mr Hu and/or Mr. Ma, depending upon your definition of “China”), thanks to them is more appropriately due on August 14 (V-J Day), or September 2 if you want to go with the signing of the formal surrender document.

“We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size.” Bernard of Chartres

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