Posted: 5/21/03

A day to remember fallen veterans

Although the fighting has technically come to a conclusion in Iraq, we probably will hear of more American loss of life. It is inevitable as we are a foreign nation occupying another country, and not all to the pleasure of all Iraqis.

In light of the scope of the American and British force that steamrolled through Iraq to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein, the number of war dead could certainly have been higher. With less than 200 killed in action, we probably got off easy.

Thatís easy to say here, but certainly not so for the families of the fallen military men and women. For them, the loss is everything but easy.

This year more than ever we need to remember the sacrifice that our military has paid in the recent Iraqi conflict. It is also a time to take stock of our past, the decades of sacrifices made by the veterans of this nation.

The country saw a strong resurgence of patriotism in the days following the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. in 2001. The patriotism also ran strong this spring when Operation Iraqi Freedom unfolded.

Now is not the time to let this national spirit fade.

On Monday, residents of the area will have an opportunity to pause for a few minutes to honor the nationís war dead and salute those men and women who are serving in uniform today, some still in harmís way.

In Forest Lake on Monday, a community Memorial Day program is planned at 9 a.m. at the Lakeside Memorial Park gazebo. It will be followed by visits to local cemeteries in the Forest Lake and Wyoming area where veterans will direct programs to honor the nationís war dead.

Most of us take time to remember all of our passed loved ones on this national holiday.

It is most certainly a holiday and a day to enjoy with family and friends, but it is also a day deserving of some quiet moments of reflection and deep reverence to the military personnel who have fought to preserve this great way of life.

In particular, letís not forget the ever-shrinking number of veterans from World War II.

Men like Mike Daninger of Scandia, a long-time farmer in the Forest Lake area, is one of hundreds from this area who went off to war in the 1940s. Daninger spent the better part of two years in India, Burma and China with the Army Air Force.

Daningerís service days come from a different era but his service has parallels to todayís veterans. He left family, home and work in the United States to defend his country and put his life on the line to bring freedom to those peoples suppressed by the Japanese empire.

Like the Iraqis who were freed this spring from the strangulation of a dictator, the efforts of men like Daninger in the 1940s helped break the back of the evil Japanese imperial threat.

There is a strong connection between the veterans of yesterday and those who served their country in its most recent war.

They need and deserve our support and Memorial Day is the fitting time to show it.

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