A Victory Revisited

To regular readers, an apology for my silence of the past several days. One holiday slipped by without nearly enough national attention this week. Last Saturday, May 7th, was the 60th anniversary of the German surrender in WWII. The following day, May 8th, was officially declared V-E Day in order to celebrate and commemorate that long awaited victory against the dark tyranny of Nazi Germany. I had started writing last weekend about the subject, but abandoned the idea to concentrate on Mothers Day. However, today I return … and not entirely too late because today, May 13th, is the anniversary of the national day of prayer declared by President Truman after the victory. Please remember that we still had a war going on in the Pacific so while there was much to be thankful for, there was still much to be accomplished. Without belaboring the point, my goal today is to encourage us all to take a look back and remember the patriotic heritage of that America at war and all those who fought so bravely on our behalf. As we remember that time in our history, I am more conscious than ever of how quickly we are losing our WWII heroes to old age. I urge everyone to track down the friends and relatives who fought or lived through that time period and glean any memories you can from them so we can pass their heritage down to the next generation that will have to live without them. To that end, I respectfully submit today a poem which discussed the loss of that greatest generation by attrition. For you history buffs, I have also included the text of the German Surrender document signed on May 7th, 1945 and a copy of President Truman’s declaration of the national day of prayer, which contains a fascinating snapshot of our nation’s heart at the time. A wise man, and a wise country, is always willing to look back in order to better understand who we are today. Enjoy the trip.

A Generation Passing
Another one of the older people I know
Has died, I just heard today
I sent him a letter a few weeks back
But now he has passed away
Like so many of his generation
Folks born when my parents were
I’m forty, they’re around eighty now
And old age has no cure
It pains me to see them dwindling
To lose the stories of all they went through
Memories of the Great Depression
And the valor of World War II
Who will remember the wisdom
That generation so dearly bought?
Who will pass on the values
That generation learned, and taught?
With every person who passes on
I feel a part of my life is lost
As our history and our heritage
Slips from my grasp at a terrible cost
If your loved ones are growing old
Call them, write them, hold their hands
Listen to each of their stories
Strive to encourage and understand
Glean the wisdom they have to offer
From the long years they have known
Before it passes away with them
And make that wisdom your own
By Frank Carpenter ©

Text from the
ACT OF MILITARY SURRENDER
1. We the undersigned, acting by authority of the German High Command, hereby surrender unconditionally to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command all forces on land, sea and in the air who are at this date under German control.
2. The German High Command will at once issue orders to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 2301 hours Central European time on 8 May and to remain in the positions occupied at that time. No ship, vessel, or aircraft is to be scuttled, or any damage done to their hull, machinery or equipment.
3. The German High Command will at once issue to the appropriate commander, and ensure the carrying out of any further orders issued by the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and by the Soviet High Command.
4. This act of military surrender is without prejudice to, and will be superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of the United Nations and applicable to GERMANY and the German armed forces as a whole.
5. In the event of the German High Command or any of the forces under their control failing to act in accordance with this Act of Surrender, the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and the Soviet High Command will take such punitive or other action as they deem appropriate.
Signed at RHEIMS at 0241 on the 7th day of May, 1945. France
On behalf of the German High Command. JODL
IN THE PRESENCE OF
On behalf of the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, W. B. SMITH
On behalf of the Soviet High Command, SOUSLOPAROV
F SEVEZ, Major General, French Army

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
The Allied armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God's help, have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The western world has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children, and murdered their loved ones. Our Armies of Liberation have restored freedom to these suffering peoples, whose spirit and will the oppressors could never enslave.
Much remains to be done. The victory won in the West must now be won in the East. The whole world must be cleansed of the evil from which half the world has been freed. United, the peace-loving nations have demonstrated in the West that their arms are stronger by far than the might of dictators or the tyranny of military cliques that once called us soft and weak. The power of our peoples to defend themselves against all enemies will be proved in the Pacific as it has been proved in Europe.
For the triumph of spirit and of arms which we have won, and of its promise to peoples everywhere who join us in the love of freedom, it is fitting that we, as a nation, give thanks to Almighty God, who has strengthened us and given us the victory.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, HARRY S. TRUMAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby appoint Sunday, May 13, 1945 to be a day of prayer.
I call upon the people of the United States, whatever their faith, to unite in offering joyful thanks to God for the victory we have won and to pray that He will support us to the end of our present struggle and guide us into the way of peace.
I also call upon my countrymen to dedicate this day of prayer to the memory of those who have given their lives to make possible our victory.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington this eighth day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-five and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-ninth.
THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
By the President:
Harry S. Truman