The Bristol Press (Conn.), Aug. 14:
Seventy years ago on Friday, Americans learned that Japan had surrendered, thus ending World War II. It came only days after the United States had dropped the atomic bomb, first, on Aug. 6, on Hiroshima and then, on Aug. 9, on Nagasaki.
To this day, the anniversary carries special meaning to a group of veterans and their families who, in partnership with the Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation and the Newington Memorial Funeral Home, will host a V-J Candlelight Ceremony of Remembrance at the memorial on Ella Grasso Boulevard in Newington tonight. They will honor the 100 Connecticut servicemen who were killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima, as well as all of America’s veterans “who have since passed away, including those who were KIA/ MIA/POW.”
Seventy years is a long time to remember, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pointed out Friday. He noted that more than 80 percent of his country’s population was born after the war – and certainly the numbers are similar here in the United States. But that doesn’t change the history of suffering, both here and overseas, that preceded that August day. The bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 took the lives of 2,400 members of the United States military and destroyed our country’s sense of security. Life in the United States forever changed after that morning.
Even before that, atrocities by the Japanese Imperial Army before and during the war left East Asia devastated.
Abe acknowledged that Japan had inflicted “immeasurable damage and suffering” on “innocent people” but added that “Japan has repeatedly expressed the feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for its actions during the war.”
The BBC observed, “Mr. Abe walked a careful line, maintaining previous apologies, but also saying future generations should not have to go on apologizing endlessly.”
“We must not let our children, grandchildren and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize.”
It was not what Japan’s neighbors wanted to hear. And that got us to thinking: When is it time to let go of old enmities?
It is important to grieve; it is important to remember and to honor those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom; and certainly, it is important to learn from the past. But when do we let go of the anger?
We have fought wars against the British – now, arguably, our nation’s best friend. We have fought against the Germans and the Italians and today they are our trusted allies in NATO. And we helped rebuild post-war Japan, even committing ourselves to the island’s security.
Abe has said that Japan must never repeat the devastation caused by his country in those years. And, we’d add, never forget it.
But, he added, “History is harsh. What is done cannot be undone.”
Those who gather today at the Iwo Jima Memorial, remembering World War II – and all of America’s other wars – can testify to that.
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