Today Is V E Day

[cincygreg]

Please celebrate accordingly!


VE DAY HEADLINES




Pay your respects to or show your respect to those who fought or had fallen in the War!

[Lew]

First off, props to Greg for bringing this up. Second, major props to those who served (not just then but for all times, including now).

As for WWII itself, V-E day can bring a wide range of sentiment. In the European theater, obviously, it brought a great sigh of relief to those in the front lines. By early 1944 the Germans themselves had begun to realize that they were fighting a losing battle. They had gambled when they invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, and they knew that they had to win quickly or else they would fail. 1942 came and went and the Soviets didn't surrender. 1943 came and went and the Soviets actually started pushing them back. By 1944, it was too late to try to broker peace with Britain and the U.S., so the Germans pretty much knew that they were going to be smashed on both fronts. Yet despite that, they continued to fight valiantly. In fact, in the year 1945 alone, the Soviets lost almost a million people, and that's through only 5 months of fighting. So to the soldiers, V-E day was a reason to celebrate.

In Washington, D.C., it brought mixed feelings. Obviously the big defense contractors hate to see war end. But the higher-ups had known for sometime that our "Allied" relationship with the Soviets would end as soon as the Germans surrendered, and once that occurred we were going to be at odds with them. I don't know as if they throught a 50-year Cold War would be commencing, but they certainly knew it was going to get ugly.

And of course, in the Pacific theater, V-E day meant nothing. The Okinawa invasion was in full swing and the fact that Germans surrendered was of little comfort to them, because the Japanese clearly were not going to surrender. Okinawa was a three month battle that cost the lives of 12,000 Americans, 70,000 Japanese and over 100,000 civilians.

But the bottom line is, over the course of the next year, millions of people got to come home to their families. So absolutely, Greg, major props to those who fought.

[gae]

Well put, LewBaby. Well put.

I often wonder how the wimps that we are now would deal with such battles. The looney left thinks that our casualties in Iraq are terrible; too bad none of them ever read any history.

We were in Vicksburg last week. For those of you who know, I need say no more. (Six weeks of siege!) For those who don't -- go to the library!