My husband and I just visited New Orleans for the first time in March. I was anticipating great food, cocktails, parks and architecture, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. What I hadn’t counted on was the troubling and lasting impact our visit to the World War II museum would have on me. Two of my uncles participated in the D Day attack on Normandy, survived, and never spoke about what they saw there. So many lives lost, and so much trauma experienced. What a tragedy.
And yet, what we fought for made me proud. Roosevelt outlined the Four Freedoms that shaped the mission against the Axis powers: freedom of speech, freedom to worship in one’s own way, freedom from want and freedom from fear. These values appear on the back of the medals our soldiers received for their service. I want to live in a nation that honors those who fought in WW2 and that defends and promotes these values. I don’t know what the path forward is, but I pray we find a way to hold on to these fundamental freedoms for all people and that we can unite, with clarity, regarding our purpose as a nation.
Originally published in the Antrim Review