Honoring Those That Have Gone Before Us
Something different as a bonus today It has been 80 years this past August since the guns of World War II finally fell silent, a moment that should stir our souls with both gratitude and profound sorrow. Somewhere between 70 million and 85 million precious lives were torn away in that brutal storm of conflict, extinguished by the cruel ingenuity of man's most horrifying weapons—devices that unleashed hell on earth and shattered families forever. Here in the United States, around 407,000 brave souls—soldiers and civilians alike—gave everything, their final breaths drawn by August 15, 1945, when Japan surrendered at last (with the formal papers signed on September 2). Among those last heartbreaking losses were four young Navy pilots from Fighter Squadron 88 (VF-88), heroes aboard the mighty aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) "The Fighting Lady". And it's one of those eternal boys—frozen in youth by time and tragedy—that tugs at my heartstrings relentlessly. Ensign...