FROM GOOD OLE UNCLE VIC

October 2007

   Hello everyone, how are you? Are you enjoying this Indian Summer? It is great weather, isn’t it? I just hope it is not negatively affecting the polar ice caps!!!

    The answer to last month’s quiz, what are the origins of a wake for a funeral? Why, merry old England, of course. In the middle ages guys would get so drunk that they would pass out on the side of the road. People would take them home, put them on the kitchen table and wait for them to “wake” up. If they did, everything was hunky-dory. Often they did not and they would be buried. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Those that got it right were: Laurie DeHoff, John Krainer, Ray Griffin, Timothy Forney, Angela Alascia, Kim Duda, Adrienne Francis, Pamela Phipps, Erika Ruddie, Nicole Varzandeh, and Pam Monacelli.

    This month’s fitness quiz, during World War II, eventually 15 million Americans served in uniform. How many men were in the active army at the start of the war? Turn your answers in to Jami at Jami.Mignogna@BrickBodies.com.

    Speaking of World War II, have any of you been watching Ken Burns’ documentary on World War II simply called “The War”? It is quite compelling.

    More than any single event, World War II shaped the modern world. It launched the U.S. into the role as the leading world power and set in motion many events that still monopolize the headlines today. For many of you, World War II may simply be a subject in a history lesson. But, indirectly, through my parents, I lived through it. I am the product of an American lieutenant and a young Filipino lawyer who met during the war, married and raised a family, first in the Philippines, then in Okinawa, Honolulu, Hawaii and finally, Silver Spring, Maryland.  And I am not alone. Millions of Americans share my story.

    Ken Burns created the documentary to honor the World War II generation before they all passed away. One thousand World War II veterans are dying every day. One thousand!!! My dad is 84. My mother is 91. Ken Burns’ dad was actually a World War II veteran.

    While the documentary details a time that affected this country like no other since the Civil War, the men and women that fought in World War II are no better or worse than any American generation. As a country, we have always done whatever we had to do to preserve our freedom and our liberties. My generation suffered through the Vietnam war. Although the war was fought for different reasons and politically divided this country instead of unifying it, young men and women went off to give their lives for their country just as they had in World War II. And, although the places like La Drang are not as famous as Iwo Jima, the men that fought there fought just as hard and showed just as much courage as the Marines immortalized on the Iwo Jima memorial planting the  flag on Mount Surabachi (See “We Were Soldiers” with Mel Gibson).

    The same is true in Afghanistan and Iraq. I read an article in the Baltimore Sun on Sunday, September 31 that said how surprising it is that men and women returning from these theaters of war are re-enlisting at unbelievably high rates. These men and women want to serve their country and stick by their mates.

    Do you know what makes America great? I know, I know. Who am I to say? I will tell you what I heard one of the leading German Economists say at a convention in Germany last year. He said that what makes America great is how easy it is to become an American; to really lay down roots and become part of American society; to really develop a sense of patriotism and a sense of belonging.

    How long does it take to become a German? Hundreds of years. There is not one non-naturally born German on the entire executive team of Mercedes-Benz. How long does it take to become a Japanese? Centuries. Again, look at the top executives in Toyota. How about a Britain? Look at Parliament sometime. But how long does it take to become an American? My mother came over in 1946. Her children, including me, consider ourselves 100% American and we are. I know nothing but the American culture; my children know nothing but the American culture. For some it is much shorter. Just a few years. Even days. Irish immigrants were met at the docks of New York, sworn in as citizens and sent right to the front during the Civil War.  (See “Gangs of New York”, with Leonardo DiCaprio)  There they fought bravely as part of the Irish Brigade, their monument on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg, right next to the Pennsylvania Memorial a witness to their valor.

    That is what makes this country great. Yes, we are a country of diverse cultures. But we are all Americans. Sometimes we are mistreated, as individuals and even as a race, African-Americans being the most obvious example. But we always put our country first, as exhibited by the honor won by the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first all-black combat regiment in the Civil War, immortalized in the movie “Glory”. Yes, even back then, during a time of segregation and social injustices, they were Americans first.

    Check out The War, on MPT every night this week at 8 PM. You owe it to that generation. And to every generation of brave Americans that put their country before themselves. You owe it to yourself. You are part of that legacy. God bless America.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY