Memorial Day Memory

Growing up, I guess I always knew that my father was in the Navy in World War II – it was the USS Lexington (or was it Enterprise?) ashtray in the house that was the giveaway.  But he never talked about the war – never.  Sure, occasionally he may have mentioned people that he had met during his time in service but it never included any details of combat. So it wasn’t until I was in grade school that I discovered he was actually a minor war hero, serving on the carriers Lexington and then Enterprise. I was reading a book on the history of the war and the book mentioned a man whose name was exactly the same as my father’s.  When I asked him whether the person in the book was, in fact, him, I can remember his reply as clear as day even now. “Yes”, he said, that was him. “But the only thing you need to know is that war is greatest waste of men and resources”. And, with that, he essentially ended the discussion and I never really heard him talk about the war again.

To be clear, he certainly believed that some wars may need to be fought – he certainly felt that way about WWII.  But his larger point is that war is the most wasteful and worst way to resolve conflict. And that truth has stuck with me ever since. If only leaders around the world paid a little more heed to my father’s words, we would all have far fewer comrades to remember on this Memorial Day.