In 1943 address to congress, President Roosevelt expressed his pride, honor, respect and gratitude towards the soldiers fighting WWII. As we listen to his words, we should remember all veterans to whom we owe a debt of gratitude, greater than any words can express.
Here are the President's words from 1943:
"First in importance in the American scene has been the inspiring proof of the great qualities of our fighting men. They have demonstrated these qualities in adversity as well as in victory. As long as our flag flies over this Capitol, Americans will honor the soldiers, sailors, and marines who fought our first battles of this war against overwhelming odds the heroes, living and dead, of Wake and Bataan and Guadalcanal, of the Java Sea and Midway and the North Atlantic convoys. Their unconquerable spirit will live forever.
Few Americans realize the amazing growth of our air strength, though I am sure our enemy does. Day in and day out our forces are bombing the enemy and meeting him in combat on many different fronts in every part of the world. And for those who question the quality of our aircraft and the ability of our fliers, I point to the fact that, in Africa, we are shooting down two enemy planes to every one we lose, and in the Pacific and the Southwest Pacific we are shooting them down four to one.
Hitler and Mussolini will understand now the enormity of their miscalculations—that the Nazis would always have the advantage of superior air power as they did when they bombed Warsaw, and Rotterdam, and London and Coventry. That superiority has gone—forever.
Yes, the Nazis and the Fascists have asked for it—and they are going to get it."
The picture was taken on Guadalcanal during WWI. The Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater. With Japanese troops stationed in this section of the Solomon Islands, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942 and took control of an air base under construction.
Some statistics of WWII to remember.
- Total U.S. Service members (Worldwide) 16,112,566
- Battle Deaths 291,557
- Other Deaths in Service 113,842
- Wounded 670,846
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-Guadalcanal
http://smith-wessonforum.com/members/paladin85020-albums-thompsons-picture5819-picture-taken-guadalcanal-during-wwii-shows-marine-firing-m1-thompson-fitted-20-round-magazine-his-fellow-marine-carries-browning-automatic-rifle-bar-war-baby-thompsons-were-stripped-down-simplified-original-models-1921-1928-they-only-accepted-20-30-round-stick-magazines.html
No comments:
Post a Comment