THIS
IS A MESSAGE FROM AN APPALLED OBSERVER:
Today I went to visit the
new
World
War II Memorial in Washington,
DC. I got an unexpected history lesson.
Because I'm a baby boomer, I was one of
the youngest in the crowd. Most were
the age of my parents, Veterans of 'the
greatest war,' with their families. It was
a beautiful day, and people were smiling
and happy to be there. Hundreds of us
milled around the
memorial, reading
the inspiring words of Eisenhower and
Truman that are engraved there.
On
the Pacific side of the memorial, a group
of us gathered to read the words President
Roosevelt used to announce the attack on
Pearl Harbor:
'Yesterday,
December 7, 1941--a date which will live
in infamy--the United States of America
was suddenly and deliberately attacked.'
One elderly woman read the words
aloud:
'With confidence in our
armed forces, with the abounding
determination of our people, we will gain
the inevitable triumph.'
But as
she read, she was suddenly turned angry.
'Wait a minute,' she said, 'they left out
the end of the quote. They left out the
most important part. Roosevelt ended
the message with
'so
help us God.'
Her
husband said, 'You are probably right.
We're not supposed to say things like
that now.'
'I know I'm right,'
she insisted. 'I remember the speech.' The
two looked dismayed, shook their heads
sadly and walked away.
Listening
to their conversation, I thought to
myself, 'Well, it has been over 50 years;
she's probably forgotten.'
But she
had not forgotten.
She
was right..
I
went home and pulled out the book my book
club is reading --- 'Flags of Our Fathers'
by James Bradley. It's
all about
the battle at Iwo Jima.
I
haven't gotten too far in the book. It's
tough to read because it's a graphic
description of the WWII battles in
the Pacific.
But right there it
was on page 58. Roosevelt 's speech to
the nation ends in
'so
help us
God.'
The
people who edited out that part of the
speech when they engraved it on the
memorial could have fooled me.
I
was born after the war! But they
couldn't fool the people who were
there. Roosevelt 's words are
engraved on their hearts.
Now I
ask: 'WHO
GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORDS
OF
HISTORY?????????'
Send
this around to your friends. People need to
know before everyone forgets.
People
today are trying to change the history of
America by leaving God out of it, but the
truth is, God has been a part of this
nation,
since the beginning. He
still wants to be...and He always will be!
If
you agree, pass this on and God
Bless YOU!
If
not, May God Forgive
You!