The End of War

The Second World War ended 75 years ago and a shrinking number are old enough to remember it firsthand. Those who fought in that terrible war, and those civilians who endured it, are dying off. They were my parent’s generation. The war was etched deeply upon their minds and hearts and I remember them taking me to the American Cemetery in Cambridge England. The Memorial Day ceremonies included a plane flyover to drop flowers from the sky over the precisely aligned white crosses where 3,812 Americans were buried. And a wall contained the names of 5,127 others that were missing in action. It was an impressive sight, but my twelve-year-old mind couldn’t take in the meaning of it all. And for that matter, who can? While a cemetery is a meaningful reality of the conflict, it hardly encompasses the total brutality of a fight that engulfed the whole world and cut short the lives of some 60 to 70 million people, with far more bearing physical and emotional scars. After the greatest conflict in man’s history, we’re still looking for the way to peace. There have been dozens of wars in the intervening 75 years, but all limited in scope in comparison. One must ask, “Are we making progress toward a more peaceful world?” Surely, there will never be a World War III! Nations are not that foolish. Or are they? Have we seen the war to end war? Can mankind learn the way to peace? There are answers to these questions and the answers may surprise you. There IS good news, so stay tuned.