I remember well the days of the Second World War. I was very young, and did not fully realize all that it meant. I remember the rationing and the black out curtains on our windows, the war bonds and savings stamps. I remember my brother in his uniform and his friends in theirs. I remember the newsreels shown before the Saturday matinee, and everyone standing up in the theater, singing the National Anthem as loudly and enthusiastically as we could, hands over hearts. To a child my age it was all very exciting. I remember the V-mail letters we sent off, and the strange censored ones we received in return.
But I also remember the little flag we hung in the front window. Thankfully, our little flag always held a blue star in the center.
But as the war stretched on, we saw more and more of those little flags with gold stars.
And then came Vietnam, and Korea, and the Gulf, and Iraq, and Afghanistan ......
Will it ever end?
