No matter your opinion on war, honor our heroes

Jun 1, 2009 2 min read

To the editor:

After watching many of the Memorial Day ceremonies held throughout the nation honoring our war time dead – and since wisdom is supposed to come with age – I was wondering which of the two World War I songs would or should be applicable for an enlightened American citizenry to apply as our national policy concerning the world in which we all live?

Song I

America / I raised my boy for you –

America / You’ll find him staunch and true –

Place a gun upon his shoulder –

he is ready to die or do –

America he is my only one, my hope, my pride and joy –

But if I had another, he’d march beside his brother –

America here’s my boy

Song II

I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier

I brought him up to be my pride and joy –

Who dares to put a gun upon his shoulder to shoot some other mother’s darling boy –

Let nations arbitrate their future troubles. It’s time to lay the sword and gun away –

There’d be no war today –

If mothers all would say –

I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier.

Which of the two is the more glorious? Without a doubt the former, but, would not the latter be the more practical?

Whatever, let all of our dead heroes rest in peace, while we continue on the path to solutions for all our worldly dilemmas.

God Bless us all

Joseph F. Curran

Cape Coral