How do the combined actions of many good citizens keep our nation moving forward? Though America is relatively new as a nation we have a rich history full of life lessons and mistakes. A problem that has many people afraid of the future, is that if we forget our past and mistakes, us will repeat them. This is practically a cliché’ but is still a fact. We have plenty of memorials in our capital dedicated to history and all of the men and women who fought and made this country we have today. World War II is almost romanticized due to the great impact it had on this country and the rest of the world. We all picture scenes of great joy of soldiers coming home and how they all had heroic posture with medals of bravery covering their chest when thinking of this era. This is not bad but we need to be careful not to lose perspective on what really happened to men, why they were there and who they were there for. Many of these strong men we picture in our minds were actually young boys who were drafted by the government. Many of them were scared and tried by any means to not go overseas. They knew that war is rough. Even the toughest and bravest kids knew that there was a possibility they were not making it home. They were there because of a great evil, the Nazi and Axis movement, taking over countries and ignoring many war laws in the pursuit of total domination. The main day we think of as a grim reminder of this war is D-Day. Many forms of media have portrayed this day but none of them can come close at remaking the horrific scene of blood covered sand with corpses littering the shoreline. Nothing will ever be able to show what was going through the mind of the young boys coming to shore when the gate of the boat opened and his friend next to him got shot by a sniper, or the fear when they heard the mortars getting closer each shot and hitting the boat next to them. Not the biggest sound-system can accurately mimic the faint screams of men getting hit by machine gun fire behind the constant ringing in your ear from the mortars going off a few meters beside you. This is how all wars are fought; with bloodshed and death. Today we do not have drafts anymore. This is thanks to the many brave men who were drafted in the past wars of this nation. The many patriotic young men today feel respect because they understand that war is hell but it is hell that their ancestors fought for their rights today and they do not want to lose sight of that. The ways we can give back to this country in military are now so vast that you can fight without being on the battlefield but still be paying back the past men that could only fight by risking everything. We need to be careful and not take what we have now for granted but to realize that the blood of men and women in the past is why we have the choice to fight. The longer we remember that; the better the future for the generation after us will be.

Photo Credits: list25.com; express.co.uk