Important Dates  by Tom Reynolds

History teaches us about the Battle of Gettysburg, on July 1st through 3rd in 1863; it’s called the turning point of the Civil War.  But lost in the focus on Gettysburg was General Grant’s victory on July 4th 1863 in the Battle of Vicksburg.  Lincoln called it “the key to the war.”  That victory captured control of the Mississippi river and permanently split the Confederacy.

If there were to be a holiday honoring those who fought in the Civil War, July 3rd and 4th would be appropriate to honor those battles.

Today, June 6th, the focus will be, appropriately, on D Day; the beginning of the liberation of Europe from Hitler’s control in World War 2.  But exactly two years earlier, a battle that is called “the turning point of the war in the Pacific” was fought.

From June 4th through 6th, 1942 - with the major action on the 4th - the United States defeated Japan in the Battle of Midway.  It stopped the Japanese string of victories and their brutal expansion in the Pacific.

Both Germany and Japan were guilty of atrocities in the War and had they won, there would have been mass genocides committed.  But the United States stopped them (with the help of allies on D Day) and civilization was saved.

2,501 Americans lost their lives in the D Day invasion.  307 men lost their lives at Midway.

If there were to be a holiday honoring the those who fought in World War 2, June 5th would be appropriate.  Unlike D Day, which was fought on land, Midway was fought over 16,000 feet of water, so a remembrance is difficult in the Pacific.

It’s not unusual, lately, to see a poll telling us how many current Americans are not proud to be an American.  Obviously, they either don’t know or choose to ignore the Americans who gave their lives to save civilization in World War 2.  Americans may not be perfect but we’re damn sure better than whoever is in second place.