What World War II Memorial means to military

  • Published
  • By Maj. Jeff Decker
  • 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  The recent opening of the National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. and its dedication this Memorial Day are highlighting the service of a generation who stood up to protect our nation, fought tyranny and freed an oppressed European continent 60 years ago.

We are now in a conflict as arduous and noble as the struggle fought by our great grandparents, grandparents and older aunts and uncles, a fight our secretary of defense believes "is the most important tasking the U.S. military has been handed since the second world war.” So it is fitting to recognize a previous group of Americans with whom we share a heritage of duty and sacrifice.

Approximately 16 million Americans served in the Armed Forces during World War II, performing their duty across the entire globe. Many of us have visited the European or Pacific battlefields while stationed overseas or at least seen “Saving Private Ryan” or the “Band of Brothers” mini-series. Now with this new memorial, 290 million Americans and countless others from different countries can visualize the enormity of World War II.

Of the Americans who did serve during the war, more than 400,000 did not return home. A single wall within the memorial park is adorned with 4,000 gold stars; each star represents 100 Americans who died during the three and half years of fighting, a poignant reminder of the tremendous sacrifice felt across big cities, small communities and the farms of rural America.

World War II was the defining moment of the 20th Century. This memorial now stands in our nation’s capital to thank those who served from the deserts of North Africa to the islands of the Pacific and across the European mainland, when America faced a determined enemy and a world threatened by totalitarian states.

It is also a powerful symbol to our fellow citizens and those who wear the uniform today that we too are engaged with a resolute adversary and a world facing the dangers of global terrorism, a war we must win to protect our homeland and our way of life.

You are following in the footsteps of Americans who answered the call on their watch. Now it is time for us to do the same. Remember that when you see the National World War II Memorial.