The Sacred Call Of Every American Generation
It had always been my dad’s wish to visit the Pearl Harbor memorial in Hawaii. A day or so after the attacks of Dec. 7, 1941, the man who would be my father joined numbers of his peers in skipping school, bombarding recruitment offices, lying about their ages, and “enlisting.”
It had always been my dad’s wish to visit the Pearl Harbor memorial in Hawaii. A day or so after the attacks of Dec. 7, 1941, the man who would be my father joined numbers of his peers in skipping school, bombarding recruitment offices, lying about their ages, and “enlisting.”
I have a picture of my dad with two friends, in their first-issued Naval uniforms, shipping out for Corpus Christi, Texas, taking their places in the fight for freedom. The WWII call to “pray for our boys,” was poignantly accurate: from communities all over America stepped up brave, patriotic … boys.
About 9 miles from the USS Arizona memorial is another of America’s most sacred places, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. My very patriotic, “greatest generation” parents never made it to either of these American landmarks. But I felt as if my visit to these sites punctuated by recitations of prayers and the pledge of allegiance were made on their behalf.
Walking amidst rows of graves, I could almost hear static-filled news casts as I looked down at the resting place of famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Reflecting on the lives and contributions of 61,000 Americans buried in the Punchbowl Cemetery, my wife and I were deeply moved at the sight of the monument also honoring those, “Known only to God.”
Those words pierce the heart because they remind us that countless Americans gave their futures so future generations could live in liberty. Many Americans now take those sacrifices for granted.
Patriotism is too often mocked by academic and cultural leaders who do not see America as a force for good, but as a nation defined by its failures. Generations of young people have been taught cynicism instead of gratitude, division instead of unity, and resentment instead of responsibility.
A time to reflect, to recommit.
The year 2026 marks 250 years since the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence — two and a half centuries since a courageous generation pledged “their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor” to establish a nation founded upon liberty, self-government, and God-given rights. The American experiment was born in sacrifice, sustained through bloodshed and preserved by generations of selfless patriots.