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Terror: Galvanized To Action

Forgetting Pearl Harbor And Pandering To Terrorists

On December 6, 2005, Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic Party and a presidential hopeful perhaps for 2008, said in a San Antonio radio show: "The idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is just plain wrong," This was one day before the 64th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Memories immediately began coming back. I was 12 years old and alone the kitchen of our small apartment in where the radio was when the program was interrupted and it was announced that Japanese airplanes had bombed Pearl Harbor. I listened for a couple of minutes and went into the living room and asked my mother, "Where’s Pearl Harbor?”

My mother gave me a puzzled look and replied, "It’s in Hawaii. Why?” I answered, "Japanese airplanes just bombed it.” My mother burst into tears, which was very unlike her. She knew instantly what it meant. My older brothers would be going to war. However, in spite of her tears, she let all of us children know that, like the Spartan mothers of ancient Greece, she would prefer her sons to return dead and on their shields rather than without their swords and shields because they surrendered.

Both of my brothers volunteered to join the Air Force or the Navy when they reached the age of 17. Both served honorably and Jack, the older brother, who was at the port of embarkation in preparation of the invasion of Japan, was saved from carrying out his assignment by the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was those 2 bombs that caused the Japanese to surrender, thereby saving the lives of millions of Japanese and Americans who would have died in an invasion of Japan.

By the time the war was over, I was graduating from high school and the words "Remember Pearl Harbor!” that galvanized the American people to action, sacrifice, determination and victory, in spite of our losing all the first battles of the war, were indelibly imprinted on my brain.

There are not many of us left these days who do actually REMEMBER the bombing of Pearl Harbor 64 years ago. In fact, based on the cowardly comments made by people like Howard Dean, John Kerry and, yes, Congressman John Murtha that we are being deluged with, it seems to me we can’t even remember the bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which was only 4 years ago. For those who have already forgotten that incident, almost twice as many Americans died on September 11, 2001 than died at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The attacks of 9-11 followed years of other sneak attacks on America and Americans: The first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center itself and the attempt by Iraq’s Intelligence Service to assassinate former President H.W. Bush in 1993; The killing of 19 American servicemen and wounding of 385 more in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in 1996; The bombing of American Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar-es-Salem, Tanzania in 1998; The kidnapping of 33 UN representatives, including an American, near Occra Hills, Sierra Leone and the kidnapping of 160 people, including six Americans, in Colombia by armed ELN terrorists in 1999; The bombing of the U.S.S. Cole that killed 17 American sailors and injured 39 in 2000.

In spite of this very recent history, we now have the dominant media and the leadership of the Democrat party telling us we need to give up, pander to terrorists, let them do their thing and bring our troops home because, according to people like Howard Dean and Congressman Murtha, we "can’t win.” What in the world is Murtha and Dean’s definition of the word "win?” In Afghanistan and Iraq more than 50 million people now have a chance to live in freedom and the random slaughter of American civilians has been almost totally stopped. If that isn’t a "win” what IS it?

If they are talking about a total absence of violence, perhaps we should start by ending or greatly reducing America’s death rates due to crime and senseless automobile accidents. We should be giving thanks that only 2000 soldiers have died in the past 4 years in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those 2000 deaths average out to approximately 500 deaths a year, or fewer than 2 deaths per day to defend America while freeing millions. Compared with the 115 people per day that die in senseless Automobile accidents in America, or the nearly 40 people per day that are criminally murdered daily in America, frankly I don’t understand the hand-wringing comments we are getting from the cut and run crowd.

In the 1940s, in a population approximately half that of America’s population today, there were over a million casualties: 407,316 soldiers died and 607,846 American soldiers were wounded. The worldwide death rate of soldiers and civilians in World War II was over 50 million. A statistically comparable figure for the War on Terror would be a casualty rate of American soldiers dead and wounded of 2,000,000 – not 2,000.

And, what were we fighting for in World War II? We didn’t even KNOW, until the war was over and our troops rolled in to free the remaining survivors of the Nazi concentration camps how many people Hitler had killed. However, what we DID know was that our country was attacked by the Japanese (not the Germans), that we were in danger, and that we all needed to pull together to save it - even if it meant fighting the Germans, who were not the ones who attacked us.

Somehow, that has never sunk in for many people about the War on Terror. Is this merely simple stupidity, or is it more sinister, perhaps a desire to help the terrorists destroy us? Or, perhaps, do the Democrats believe that by pandering to terrorists they can regain control of Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008?

Mary Mostert was writing professionally on political issues as a teen-ager in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1940s. In the 1960s, she was one of 52 American women who attended the 17 Nation Disarmament Conference in Geneva, Switzerland to ban testing of nuclear bombs in the atmosphere. She was a licensed building contractor for 29 years, as she raised her six children. She served an 18 month mission as Public Affairs Director for the Africa Area for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1990-91. In the 1990s she wrote a book, Coming Home, Families Can Stop the Unraveling of America, edited the Reagan Monthly Monitor and talk show host Michael Reagan’s Information Interchange for seven years. She now operates the website, Banner of Liberty. Forgetting Pearl Harbor And Pandering To Terrorists. Conservative Truth. December 12, 2005.

Here's A Yule Story That Ought To Be A Movie

And now, in time for the holidays, I bring you the best Christmas story you never heard. It started last Christmas, when Bennett and Vivian Levin were overwhelmed by sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops. "We have to let them know we care," Vivian told Bennett.

So they organized a trip to bring soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philly, on Dec. 3. The cool part is, they created their own train line to do it. Yes, there are people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin - native Philly guy, self-made millionaire and irascible former L&I commish - is one of them.

He has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seating and white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at his Juniata Park train yard. One car, the elegant Pennsylvania, carried John F. Kennedy to the Army-Navy game in 1961 and '62. Later, it carried his brother Bobby's body to D.C. for burial. "That's a lot of history for one car," says Bennett.

He and Vivian wanted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975, during which trains carried Army-Navy spectators from around the country directly to the stadium where the annual game is played. The Levins could think of no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the wounded men and women recovering at Walter Reed in D.C. and Bethesda, in Maryland. "We wanted to give them a first-class experience," says Bennett. "Gourmet meals on board, private transportation from the train to the stadium, perfect seats - real hero treatment."

Through the Army War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett met with Walter Reed's commanding general, who loved the idea. But Bennett had some ground rules first, all designed to keep the focus on the troops alone: No press on the trip, lest the soldiers' day of pampering devolve into a media circus.

No politicians either, because, says Bennett, "I didn't want some idiot making this trip into a campaign photo op." And no Pentagon suits on board, otherwise the soldiers would be too busy saluting superiors to relax. The general agreed to the conditions, and Bennett realized he had a problem on his hands. "I had to actually make this thing happen," he laughs.

Over the next months, he recruited owners of 15 other sumptuous rail cars from around the country - these people tend to know each other - into lending their vehicles for the day. The name of their temporary train? The Liberty Limited. Amtrak volunteered to transport the cars to D.C. - where they'd be coupled together for the round-trip ride to Philly - then back to their owners later.

Conrail offered to service the Liberty while it was in Philly. And SEPTA drivers would bus the disabled soldiers 200 yards from the train to Lincoln Financial Field, for the game. A benefactor from the War College ponied up 100 seats to the game - on the 50-yard line - and lunch in a hospitality suite. And corporate donors filled, for free and without asking for publicity, goodie bags for attendees: From Woolrich, stadium blankets. From Wal-Mart, digital cameras. From Nikon, field glasses. From GEAR, down jackets.

There was booty not just for the soldiers, but for their guests, too, since each was allowed to bring a friend or family member. The Marines, though, declined the offer. "They voted not to take guests with them, so they could take more Marines," says Levin, choking up at the memory.

Bennett's an emotional guy, so he was worried about how he'd react to meeting the 88 troops and guests at D.C.'s Union Station, where the trip originated. Some GIs were missing limbs. Others were wheelchair-bound or accompanied by medical personnel for the day. "They made it easy to be with them," he says. "They were all smiles on the ride to Philly. Not an ounce of self-pity from any of them. They're so full of life and determination."

At the stadium, the troops reveled in the game, recalls Bennett. Not even Army's lopsided loss to Navy could deflate the group's rollicking mood. Afterward, it was back to the train and yet another gourmet meal - heroes get hungry, says Levin - before returning to Walter Reed and Bethesda. "The day was spectacular," says Levin. "It was all about these kids. It was awesome to be part of it."

The most poignant moment for the Levins was when 11 Marines hugged them goodbye, then sang them the Marine Hymn on the platform at Union Station. "One of the guys was blind, but he said, 'I can't see you, but man, you must be f---ing beautiful!' " says Bennett. "I got a lump so big in my throat, I couldn't even answer him."

It's been three weeks, but the Levins and their guests are still feeling the day's love. "My Christmas came early," says Levin, who is Jewish and who loves the Christmas season. "I can't describe the feeling in the air." Maybe it was hope. As one guest wrote in a thank-you note to Bennett and Vivian, "The fond memories generated last Saturday will sustain us all - whatever the future may bring." God bless the Levins. And bless the troops, every one.

Ronnie Polaneczky. Here's a Yule story that ought to be a movie. The Inquirer | Daily News. Thu, Dec. 22, 2005.

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